Perceived employment barriers involving program managers

Walden University Walden University

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Perceived employment barriers involving program managers Perceived employment barriers involving program managers

assisting unemployed young african american males assisting unemployed young african american males

Michael P Williams Walden University

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Walden University

College of Social and Behavioral Sciences

This is to certify that the doctoral dissertation by

Michael Williams

has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects

and that any and all revisions required by

the review committee have been made

Review Committee

Dr Jessie Lee Committee Chairperson

Public Policy and Administration Faculty

Dr Tanya Settles Committee Member

Dr Victoria Landu-Adams University Reviewer

Chief Academic Officer and Provost

Sue Subocz PhD

Walden University

Abstract

Perceived Employment Barriers Involving Program Managers Assisting Unemployed

Young African American Males

Michael Williams

MPA John Jay College of Criminal Justice 2011

BS John Jay College of Criminal Justice 1993

Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

Public Policy and Public Administration

Walden University

June 2020

Abstract

For unemployed young African American males who face significant barriers to

jobs public employment training centers have become a critical last option For 2016 the

US federal government appropriated more than $69 billion to states for Workforce

Innovation Opportunity Act programs and approximately $34 billion in federal formula

funding for partner programs The research problem in this study concerns the lack of

adequate employment-based policies and programs that guide the workforce employment

process between program managers and recipients in particular young African

American males Guided by Ingram Schneider and deLeonrsquos theory of social

construction and policy design this study examined the perceptions of public workforce

employment professionals involved with assisting these recipients Research questions

for this qualitative case study were designed to investigate how the perception of program

professionals assisted recipients In this case study data were triangulated through the use

of in-depth interviews the researcherrsquos notebook and member checking Thematic

analysis of the data revealed 5 emergent themes (a) perceived barriers and stereotypes

(b) strategies for securing employment (c) managing change and new technology (d)

perceptions of job search benefits and burdens and (e) politics of the organization

Participants encouraged recipients to prepare for a changing labor market by using

training workshops The implications for positive social change include recommendations

to policymakers that focus on strategies to encourage a greater sense of independence

autonomy and use of new technology for recipients involved in public employment

training to help them find and sustain meaningful employment

Michael Williams

Walden University

June 2020

Dedication

Most affectionately I dedicate this research dissertation to my family To my

daughter Maxine I am grateful for her high self-esteem and her commitment to being a

single parent I truly appreciate your faith in me and for all of your assistance with my

dissertation To my daughter Juleah I am thankful for all the love and support To my

four grandchildren Arianna Tatyanna Jayden and Dayden I dedicate this dissertation to

all of you because of the constant hugs and kisses while I studied to complete this project

Without the support and love of my family it would have been impossible for me to

accomplish this goal

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank all of the faculty members at Walden University for their

support of my research and the study participants whose sharing of their experiences was

not only informative but inspiring I would like to express my gratitude to my committee

chair Dr Jessie Lee for his mentorship insightful feedback and constant encouragement

to make my dissertation meaningful as a scholar and to the community I would like to

thank my committee member Dr Victoria Landu-Adams for her assistance and input

during the completion of this project I am hopeful and eager to make some positive

contributions to this field of study

Table of Contents

List of Tables vi

Chapter 1 Introduction to the Study 1

Introduction 1

Background 2

Statement of the Problem 7

Purpose of the Study 9

Theoretical Framework 10

GuidingResearch Questions 11

Nature of the Study 11

Definitions 12

Assumptions 14

Scope and Delimitations 15

Limitations 16

Significance 16

Summary 17

Chapter 2 Literature Review 19

Introduction 19

Theoretical Framework Social Construction and Policy Design Theory 22

Professional Literature Employment and Job Training 28

African American Males Prolonged Joblessness 30

Public Workforce Literature Unemployed African American Males 33

Public Workforce Employment Training Young African American Males 34

Public Workforce Program Professionals Strategies and Intervention 36

African American Males The Hidden Unemployed 37

African American Males Unemployment Current Statistics 39

African American Male Unemployment Explanation Theories 41

African American Males Education 44

African American Males Job Mismatch amp Employment Skills 45

African American Males Racial Discrimination 46

African American Males Employer Discrimination 47

Young African American Males Incarceration and Child Support Policy 48

Summary 49

Chapter 3 Methods 51

Introduction 51

Research Design and Approach 53

Case Study 55

Recruitment of Participants 57

Research Question Alignment 60

Data Collection 60

Data Analysis 62

Coding Procedures and Thematic Analysis 64

Computer Software and Data Analysis 67

Trustworthiness 68

Transferability 69

Dependability 69

Ethical Considerations 70

Researcherrsquos Role 71

Chapter 4 Results 74

Introduction 74

Description of the Participants 75

Data Collection 79

Data Analysis 84

Level One Coding 85

Level Two Coding 86

Level Three Coding 86

Findings 87

Emergent Themes 87

Perceived Barriers and Stereotypes 89

Managing Change and New Technology 91

Strategies for Securing Employment 94

Perceptions of Benefits and Burden 96

Politics of the Organization 99

Results of Research Interview Questions 101

Findings for Research Question 1 101

Discrepant Cases and Non-Conforming Data 115

Evidence of Quality 116

Summary of Findings 116

Chapter 5 Discussion Recommendations Implications and Conclusion 1189

Introduction 118

Interpretation of the Findings 120

Emergent Themes 122

Perceptions of Benefits and Burdens 126

Response to Research Question 1 129

Limitations of the Study 131

Social Change Implications 131

Recommendation for Action 133

Recommendation for Future Study 135

Reflection of the Researchers Experience 136

Conclusion 138

References 140

Appendix A Individual Interview Guide 150

Appendix B The Workforce Agency Employment Training Organizer 152

Appendix C Emergent Themes 153

List of Tables

Table 1 Emergent Themes and Codes 81

Chapter 1 Introduction to the Study

Introduction

African American men have struggled with the process of obtaining employment

in ways significantly different from other major racial or ethnic groups In particular

young African American males continue to face periods of long-term unemployment

despite significant economic and political change over the past 5 decades To enter the

labor markets many young African American males turn to public workforce agencies

and community-based employment programs as a pathway to employment (Spaulding

Lerman Holzer amp Eyster 2015) Studies have shown that public workforce programs

may help some participants achieve modest increases in earnings yet further research is

needed to see how public workforce agency can align policies and practices more

strategically to improve employment opportunities for young African American males

(Spaulding et al 2015 Heinrich2016)

In this case study I examined the perceptions of public workforce program

professionals assisting young African American males at one public workforce agency

The workforce organization has dedicated significant resources and personnel to the task

of assisting young African American males secure a pathway to employment However

the workforce employment training policies and practices that guide the process for

young African American males tend to focus on low wages work or jobs that have

become obsolete or overlook employment opportunities resulting from advances in

technology (Spaulding et al 2015)

Researchers cite limitations imposed by policy design limited discussion of the

misalignments of policies and practices that can lead to missed employment

opportunities and lack of adequate employment-based policies and practices assisting

young African American males during the transition to work process as factors affecting

these participants (Francis 2013 Heinrich C 2016 McConnell et al 2016 Spaulding

et al 2015) A better understanding of the perceptions of public workforce professionals

assisting unemployed young African American males may improve policy design

improve understanding of the impact of social constructions for this population and help

address the uneven quality of the public employment training experience for these

individuals Schneider Ingram and deLeonrsquos (2009) social construction of target

population and policy design provided the framework and insight into how positive and

negative social constructions of target populations affect public policies designed to

address matters relevant to these groups This chapter is divided into nine sections which

cover the background of the problem statement of the problem literature regarding the

scope of the problem key terms and definitions the purpose of the study the significance

of the study conceptual framework research questions and summary

Background

Although African Americans are in many ways better off in absolute terms than

they were 5 decades ago they continue to face significant barriers to employment

particularly young males (Spaulding et al 2015 Jones Schmitt amp Wilson 2018) In

2016 the US Department of Labor reported that among major racial and ethnic groups

African American males (20 to 24 years of age) experienced nearly 30 higher rates of

joblessness in cities such as New York and Los Angles in 2015 (Bureau of Labor

Statistics 2016) Edinrsquos (2015) study linked joblessness of African American men to

family breakup and multi-partner fertility for black mothers Biological fathers who are

jobless consistently move away and abandon their children The challenges of collecting

data on unemployed young African American males are further complicated because

traditional employment data counts only those considered ldquoactively seeking employmentrdquo

(US Department of Labor Statistics 2017)

Cherry (2016) noted that young African Americans males tend to fall into the

category of the ldquohidden unemployedrdquo because they may want to work and have simply

been unsuccessful during the job search process Research has shown that many young

African American males who turn to public workforce employment services may achieve

modest increases in earnings however further research is needed to see how public

workforce agencies can align policies and practices more strategically to improve

employment opportunities for young African American males (Spaulding et al 2015)

The literature indicated that existing studies do not capture the full effects on participants

or society because of the lack of adequate employment-based policies and practices

involving public workforce professionals assisting unemployed African American males

during the transition to work process effects of the limitations imposed by policy design

the limited discussion of the misalignment of policies and practices which may

contribute to missed employment opportunities for young African American males

(Francis 2013 Heinrich 2016 McConnell et al 2016 Spaulding et al2015) There is

a gap in the literature concerning understanding the employment barriers involving public

workforce program professionals assisting young African Americans males during the

transition to work process and the relevance of social constructions and policy design

affecting these groups

professionals assisting young African American males seeking employment training at

one public workforce agency The public agency has dedicated resources and experienced

program professionals with the task of assisting low-income individuals and young

unemployed African American males during the transition to work However further

research was needed to see how public workforce agencies and program professionals

can address limitations imposed by policy design the lack of adequate employment-

based policies and practices affecting these target groups and the factors that may

contribute to missed employment opportunities for unemployed young African

American males Research has shown that the workforce employment program policies

and practices that guide the process for young African American males tend to focus on

low-wage work or on jobs that have become obsolete or they may overlook employment

opportunities created by advancements in technology (Heinrich 2016 Spaulding et al

Technology is rapidly changing how we live and work Employment

opportunities are emerging in customer service marketing and data processing that may

allow more individuals the option to work from remote locations (McKinney et al

2015) Previous research indicated that public workforce employment program policies

and practices are not aligned to provide young African American males reasonable

access to these types of job opportunities (Spaulding et al 2015) A better understanding

of the perceptions of public workforce professionals assisting unemployed young

African American males may contribute to better alignment of policies and practices for

public workforce agencies and professionals and help address factors that may lead to

missed employment opportunities The workforce agency has a mission statement that

provided information about a full range of workforce options across several funding

streams including the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (WIOA) and Supplemental

Security Income (SSI) programs The WIOA (2016) provides for comprehensive

realignment of the nationrsquos workforce development programs For 2016 the US federal

government appropriated more than $69 billion to states for WIOA programs and

approximately $34 billion in federal formula funding for partner programs for a total of

$105 billion in federal funding Public workforce agencies such as workforce

development agency (WDA) have dedicated resources and personnel to the task of

assisting low-income and less-skilled individuals with gaining a pathway to employment

New York City with a population of more than 85 million people is also one of

the largest cities involved in public employment-based training and with the largest

budget at $57 million in 2017 In 2015 among New Yorkers ages 18 to 24 years nearly

140000 were both out of work and out of school Research has shown that the race of a

young person influences their likelihood of being unemployed for example black men

and women ages 18 to 24 years are unemployed at respective rates are 16 and 23 times

higher than their unemployed white peers (Josephson A 2017) Of the total participants

involved in public employment programs 6267506 were in the adult programs and

174521 were youth participants Participants were of different ages (20 to 24 years) and

public workforce employment programs may include tutoring paid and unpaid work

experiences and employment-based training (Spaulding et al 2015)

Spaulding et al (2015) suggested that broader solutions are needed to address

disparities in public employment and training experience for young men of color These

solutions should involve multiple institutions in government nonprofit organizations and

education as well as interventions that target low-income young African American

males It is not only important to understand how inadequate employment-based policies

and practices affect participants but also that policymakers gain a better understanding of

the effects of the social constructions on the transition to the work process for young

African American males seeking to enter the job market I reviewed the following

literature to establish a framework for the research Ingram Schneider and deLeonrsquos

(2009) theory of social construction and policy design proposed that policymakers

typically socially construct target groups in positive and negative terms and distribute

benefits and burdens as to reflect and perpetuate these constructions Cherryrsquos (2016)

study indicated that negative stereotypes about young African American males assumed

their lack of motivation and limited interpersonal skills explain periods of prolonged

joblessness and Francisrsquo (2013) study indicated that public and private workforce

development programs help some participants modestly increase earnings However

existing studies do not follow participants for long enough to understand the effects of

certain interventions do not follow participants for any significant timeframe to

determine effects of interventions ignore most intervention impacts other than those on

earnings and do not provide insights into the alignment of policies and strategies that

may affect participants

Spaulding et al (2015) reported that too often low-income young African

American males have little opportunity to be exposed to various career paths gain

valuable work experience and build employment history Cherry Robert and Chun

Wang (2015) suggested that for young African American men having a high school

diploma and improved educational attainment can inoculate against unemployment and

increase lifetime earnings Pager (2011) found that along with job search challenges in

the labor markets young African American males face barriers associated with the lack

of work experience lack of education racial discrimination housing situation

involvement in the criminal justice systems and poor family relationships According to

the Bureau of Justice Statistics one in three African American males and one in four

HispanicLatino males can expect to be incarcerated during their lifetime (Sentencing

Project 2013) Spaulding et al (2015) stated that a broader solution is needed to improve

the employment experience of young and McKinney et al (2017) reported that

midcareer job training will be essential as will enhancing the labor market dynamism and

enabling worker redeployment Among its conclusions was that technology destroys jobs

but not work In Chapter 2 I provide a more detailed description of the literature

Statement of the Problem

Public workforce employment agencies provide critical job training and

employment services for many disadvantaged groups who face significant barriers to

employment In particular young African American males work with public workforce

program professionals at public workforce agencies to find a pathway into the labor

markets The research problem concerns the lack of adequate employment-based policies

and practices that guide the process for public workforce program professionals assisting

young African American males during the transition to work process For young African

American males who face barriers to employment public workforce employment-based

policies and practices tend to focus on low-wage work or on jobs that have become

obsolete or they overlook employment opportunities resulting from advances in

technology McKinsey et al (2017) found that even the most carefully designed public

employment training fails if providers do not address certain barriers that affect many

disadvantaged and low-income minority participants

Many young African American males working with public workforce

employment training professionals such as WDA continue to face barriers from

limitations imposed by policy design lack of adequate employment-based policies and

practices and the lack of alignment of workforce program policies and practices resulting

in missed employment opportunities (Heinrich 2016) Policy design tends to affect the

social construction of target groups and can create stereotypes used to portray those

groups (Schneider amp Ingram 1997) Yet technology is rapidly changing how we live and

work Employment opportunities are emerging that may allow program professional

options to address many of the employment barriers facing young African American

males There is a gap in the literature regarding knowledge of the perceptions of public

workforce program professionals assisting young African American males involved in

the transition to work process as well as the relevance of social constructions and policy

design affecting the process In this case study I examined the perceptions of public

the public workforce employment experience I also examined the relevance of social

constructions and policy design during the transition to work experience

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the perceptions of public

employment workforce professionals assisting unemployed young African American

males involved in the transition to work process guided by theories of policy design and

social constructions relevant to the targeted population Ingram et al (2009) developed

the theory of social construction of targeted populations and policy design to provide

insights into policy formation and design by stating that policies can target specific

populations or groups of people to either benefit from policy or be burdened by the

policy One aim of the study is to gain a better understanding of the perceptions of public

workforce professionals assisting young unemployed African American males in

connection to limitations imposed by policy design the impact of social constructions

and the factors that may contribute to the lack of employment opportunities

A better understanding of the perceptions of public workforce professionals can

also contribute to improved employment opportunities for young African American

males which may include employment opportunities in new job sectors Technology is

rapidly changing how we live and work For young African American males the

transition to work process in WDArsquos programs tends to focus on low wage jobs or

overlook new employment opportunities created by advancements in technology

Effective workforce employment training programs recognize that todayrsquos training must

be appropriate for the jobs of tomorrow McKinney et al (2017) stated that although

some jobs or industries will no longer exist due to technological advances others require

fundamentally different skills

Theoretical Framework

The theoretical model framing this study was Ingram et alrsquos (2009) theory of

social construction and policy design There are several characteristics of social

construction and policy design theory relevant to this study including that policymakers

benefits and burdens as to reflect and perpetuate those constructions Social constructions

of targeted populations are important political attributes that often become embedded in

political discourse and the elements of policy design and policy design for negatively

constructed target groups generally result in those group members becoming more

marginalized and less active in politics (Ingram amp Schneider 1993) The theoryrsquos core

rationale is based on past work on social constructions of knowledge in terms of positive

and negative connotations (Edelman 1964 1988) and policy designs (Dryzek 1990)

Policy designs shape the experience for the target population and send an implicit

message about the level of importance the problem is to the government and whether

participation is to be effective (Schneider amp Ingram 1993) The social construction of

individuals or groups refers to the symbols images and stereotypes used about

individuals or groups by government officials and society more broadly (Schneider amp

Ingram 1993) The research questions for this study will align with this framework in

which I explore the perceptions of public workforce program professionals assisting

unemployed young African American males who faced significant barriers in the

transition to work process The guiding research question What are public employment-

based program professionalsrsquo perceptions about the alignment of workforce policies and

practices that shape social constructions relevant to unemployed African American

males involved in the transition to work process Schneider and Ingram (1997)

understood social construction to mean the varying ways in which realities are shaped To

understand the development and implications of policy design the theory incorporates the

social construction and power of the target population The theoretical foundation serves

to explore the findings of the experiences of public workforce program managers

assisting unemployed young African American males during the transition to work

process In Chapter 2 I provide a more detailed explanation of the theoretical framework

and literature

GuidingResearch Questions

The following are the research questions that I used to guide this study

RQ1 What are public employment program professionalsrsquo perceptions about the

alignment of workforce policies and practices that shape social constructions relevant to

unemployed young African American males involved in the transition to work process

RQ2 What are public workforce program managersrsquo perceptions about the

relevance of workforce employment policy design and social constructions impacting

unemployed young African American males during the workforce training experience

Nature of the Study

The nature of this study was qualitative with a case study design The

methodological approach included face to face structured interviews in-depth interviews

and follow-up interviews with public workforce program professionals Quane Wilson

and Hwang (2015) found that qualitative research is useful for understanding the

perceptions and experiences of individuals in complex research settings and qualitative

research can provide the type of tools that allows the researcher to go ldquobeneath the

surfacerdquo of the research problem Many young African American males turn to public

workforce employment training after experiencing prolonged periods of joblessness

(Heinrich 2016) Also in the field of public workforce employment training as with

other fields of work policy design tends to affect the social construction of targeted

groups such as young employed African American males and can create stereotypes

used to portray those groups (Schneider amp Ingram 1997) In this case study I

interviewed public workforce program professionals at one workforce development

agency tasked with providing a pathway to employment for young unemployed African

American males One aim of the study was to gain a better understanding of how the

perceptions of public workforce employment professionals assisting these participants in

the transition to work process were relevant to policy design and the social constructions

affecting these groups In Chapter 2 I present a more detailed explanation of the research

study and relevant literature I will use the research questions to consider the workforce

development policies and practices that affect the transition to work process involving

public employment program professionals and the participants in particular young

African American males seeking employment

Definitions

On the subject of African American male joblessness and workforce employment

programs certain key terms and definitions should be considered to add some perspective

on the issue being discussed in the literature The US Department of Labor utilized the

following terms for US citizenrsquos work behavior and employment-related constructs

The employed are those persons who during the reference work week did work for at

least one hour as paid employees worked in their own business profession or on their

farm or worked 15 hours or more as unpaid workers in an enterprise operated by a

family member Those temporarily absent from work but who had jobs or businesses to

return to are also counted as employed (US Department of Labor 2015)

The unemployed are those not working but available for work in the reference week and

actively seeking work in the past 4 weeks Those persons waiting to be recalled from

layoff need not be seeking work to be classified as unemployed (US Department of

Labor 2015)

The unemployment rate is the ratio of the unemployed to the labor force (US

Department of Labor 2015)

The labor force participation rate is the ratio of the labor force to top the population of

working age (ages 16 years and over) in the United States (US Department of Labor

The nonparticipant rate is the number of working-age individuals who do not have jobs

but are not actively looking for work

The employment-to-population ratio is the fraction of the employed to the population of

working-age persons

Prolonged joblessness refers to unemployment and non-participation in the labor market

collectively (Wilson 2003)

Social construction Schneider and Ingram (2008) noted that social construction develops

with the use of symbols interpretation and discourse in society

Target populations or groups of people are shaped by social construction There are four

types of social constructions described in this study advantaged groups contenders

dependants and deviants (Schneider amp Ingram 1993 1997 2005)

Policy design Ingram and Schneider (1993) defined the policy design process as the

elements found in the content of the policy that affects target populations and other

citizens Additionally policy design reflects the various decisions of many different

people (Schneider et al 2014)

Target population Defined as the population or group that a researcher is interested in

analyzing as part of a study Ingram and Schneiderrsquos (2005) theory of social construction

of target populations show that effective policy implementation requires a close

examination

Unemployed young African American males Defined as individuals engaged in either

public workforce training experience or other job search activities

Assumptions

Assumptions are elements of the design that may affect the study but the

researcher cannot control them (Barron 2008) The assumptions that will likely be

relevant to the research design concern whether participants will respond honestly and

truthfully during the interview process This assumption holds that interviewees will be

provided an opportunity to offer responses in a safe environment and honest answers are

expected The assumption that by gaining a better understanding of how participants

perceive employment barriers and the effects of social constructs on targeted groups can

lead to more effective public workforce employment policies and practices Another

assumption of this study is that unemployed young African American males involved in

the public workforce experience have different transitional experiences during the

process of entering the labor market The final assumption holds that given the

responsibilities of public workforce program professionals every effort to achieve

productive outcomes will be pursued

Scope and Delimitations

This study involved collecting data from 10 public workforce program

professionals at which point saturation had been reached Participants included (a)

program employment-training professionals (b) program managers and (c) a program

director affiliated with one public workforce development agency in New York City

Workforce Agencyrsquos workforce site provides employment services and job training to

individuals who face barriers to employment This research involved a qualitative case

study approach to allow the researcher to explore the perceptions of public workforce

professionals assisting unemployed young African American males Workforce

Agencyrsquos operation has dedicated resources and personnel to the task of assisting these

individuals however the traditional workforce program policies and practices tend to

direct these participants to low wage work and jobs that have become obsolete or ignore

employment opportunities created by advancement in technology

The theoretical framework selected for the study (Social Construction and Policy

Design Theory) explains why certain targeted populations are overlooked for

opportunities as a result of policy design The scope of the study was to gain a better

understanding of the perceptions of the public workforce program professionals involved

in guiding the transition to work process for young African American males One of the

delimitations that affected the study was participation in programs focused on

populations living near or at the poverty level Ultimately the results of a qualitative

study must be understood within the context of the particular characteristics of the

organizations and perhaps the geographical area in which the fieldwork is carried out

(Stake 1995) This suggests that although each case is unique it is also an example

within a broader group and as a result the prospect of transferability should not be

immediately rejected

Limitations

This case study was limited to one public workforce employment agency in New

York City As a case study the sample size was small and therefore the results should

not be generalized representation of other populations However because this was a case

study of one public workforce employment agency in New York City I could provide

more detail about the perceptions and experiences of the participants involved in the

study I did take into consideration those features of the study that concern dependability

credibility transferability and confirmability as criteria for assessing the trustworthiness

of the findings Guba (1981) suggested that researchers address concerns about neutrality

and consistency in the research I will provide a more detailed description in Chapter 3

Significance

The significance of this study concerns the potential to inform policymakers and

managers involved in public workforce employment initiatives that focus on creating a

career pathway for young African American males This study may also contribute to

social change by improving policies and practices involving public workforce

professionals assisting young African American males during the transition to work

process Cherry et al (2015) suggested that high rates of joblessness and unemployment

for young African American males are disproportionate and mask the fact that

prolonged joblessness is often influenced by cultural behavioral political and societal

factors A study that provides insights into the perceptions and experiences of public

workforce professionals assisting unemployed African American males can contribute to

better alignment of the policies and practices that guide the process

Gaining a better understanding of the perceptions of public employment-based

program professionals involved in the transition to work process for young African

American males may improve both the length of employment as well as job

opportunities Also developing a better understanding of the perspectives and

experiences of employment-based program managers about how participants approach

the transition into the workplace allows policymakers the opportunity to develop more

positive and effective interventions Technology is rapidly changing how we live and

work Employment opportunities are emerging in areas of customer service marketing

and data processing which may allow individuals options to work from remote locations

However public workforce program policies and practices tend to guide some

participants particularly young African American males towards low-wage work This

research aimed to gain a better understanding of the perceptions of public employment

program professionals assisting young African American males during the process of

obtaining work

Summary

The labor markets in the 21st century will face a myriad of global challenges

which affect the work experiences of most people In particular individuals facing

employment barriers into the labor markets face another set of challenges Public

workforce agencies such as the agency involved in the study play a key role in

providing a pathway to employment for disadvantaged groups particularly young

African American males

Interventions and policies focused on improving the pathway to employment for

unemployed young African American males can contribute to more productive and

successful experiences in the workplace Understanding the perceptions of the public

workforce professionals tasked with implementing these interventions designed to assist

may be an important step toward promoting positive social change In Chapter 1 I

provided an overview of the problem and the study and in Chapter 2 I provide a review

of the literature and the theoretical framework involved in the case study

Chapter 2 Literature Review

Introduction

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of public

employment-based program professionals assisting unemployed young African

American males during the transition into the New York City workforce and to gain a

better understanding of the relevance to policy design and the social constructions

impacting these targeted groups In this study I explored how the perceptions of public

workforce employment professionals assisting young African American males during the

transition to the work process were relevant to the misalignments of workforce policies

and practices Previous research has shown that some participants experience modest

earnings increases during the transition into the workforce yet further research is needed

to see how workforce development agencies can align policies and practices more

(Spaulding et al 2015) A better understanding of the perceptions of public workforce

program professionals assisting young African American males can improve policy

design and address misalignments that can lead to missed employment opportunities

The perceived employment barriers in this study concerned cultural behavioral political

and societal factors In this study I addressed the gap in the literature regarding the

impact of inadequate workforce policies and practices involving public workforce

program professionals assisting young African American males during the transition to

work process and the relevance of policy design and social constructions impacting these

target populations This review of the literature focused on public workforce program

professionals program participants policies and practices involved in the employment

process the theoretical and conceptual framework for the study themes used in the

literature concerning the experiences of unemployed young African American males

and factors which can influence the perceptions of public workforce employment-based

program professionals The theoretical framework for the study included Ingram

Schneider and deLeonrsquos (2007) social construction and policy design theory which

focused on socially constructed values applied to the knowledge of target populations and

the consequent effects these values have on people Ingram and Schneider (1993)

developed the theory of social construction of target populations to provide explanations

into agenda-setting and policy formation and design by illustrating how policies target

certain populations to either provide benefits or impose burdens from the policy

The theory of social construction of target populations also provided a model to

examine the positive and negative social constructions used by policymakers to distribute

benefits and burdens reflective of such constructions (Ingram et al 2007) Policy designs

shape the experience for the target population and send an implicit message about the

level of importance the problem is to the government (Ingram et al 2007) Policy design

is important because of the implications for reinforcing negative or positive social

constructions Schneider and Ingram (1993) noted that language metaphors and stories

are also utilized to create positive and negative images of target populations in the policy

design process Coleman (1986) suggested that whether on a large or small scale

individuals engage in some form of social theory daily through their interactions with one

another Social theory can explain ideas about power and social structures class gender

and ethnicity Coleman found that social theory grounded in institutional and structural

settings makes possible a connection between the individual and society and the ideas

about how social systems are shaped I reviewed the literature for definitions and

concepts that inform the study

Saporta and Medina (2014) found that to realize the economic promise of the

nationrsquos diversity workforce training programs are needed for entry-level health-care

jobs that address job placement challenges faced by hard-to-employ individuals and

young men of color Challenges faced by these targeted groups such as lack of stable

housing limited transportation criminal justice history as well as strong negative

stereotypes by employers of young African American males prevent full inclusion into

society (Saporta amp Medina 2014) Sherman (2017) explained that barriers to

employment for young African American males are structural and arise from systems

and policies- like discrimination segregation unstable and low-quality jobs and lack of

investment in education child care and other crucial support not an individual choice

The federal government is crucial to addressing barriers to employment- in partnership

with states communities and businesses Recent studies confirm that hiring

discrimination against Blacks and Latinos has remained virtually unchanged in the last 25

years A persistent history of employment discrimination along with segregation has

kept people of color and in particular young African American males either out of the

labor market entirely trapped in low-wage jobs or reliant on the informal economies

(Sherman 2017)

Darity (2005) described the enslavement of Africans and its relevance to the

beliefs that black males were hyper-sexed lazy and uneducable Murray (1984)

described views which attribute the increase of male unemployment to programs

designed to eliminate poverty Whitehead (2005) explained views on human capital and

cultural capital theories which attribute the lower-income and joblessness of African

American men to their supposed below-average productivity Holzer and Offnerrsquos (2004)

arguments on incarceration and child support enforcement exacerbating the employment

problems of African American males Spaulding et al (2015) views that public workforce

programs and models should be expanded to reach young men of color and address the

quality of jobs and wages and Cherryrsquos (2016) views that young African American

males experience periods of prolonged joblessness despite a willingness to seek work

Sources for the literature include peer-reviewed articles doctoral dissertations websites

of federal and state organizations and books

The databases utilized for this study include (a) EBSCO (b) Academic Search

Premier (c) Sage Journal Online (d) Google Scholar Search and (e) the Walden

University Library This review discussed the literature which contributes to the

theoretical framework used in this study This literature review utilized the following

keywords and phrases Young African American males social construction and policy

design theory employment training public workforce program prolonged joblessness

public workforce professionals work transition process targeted populations the long-

term unemployed the hidden unemployed and public workforce agencies

Theoretical Framework Social Construction and Policy Design Theory

A theoretical framework will provide a base for this study Helen Ingram Anne

Schneider and Peter Deleon (2009) provided the framework for the social construction of

target populations and policy design theory to help explain how individual groups are

constructed as targeted populations Public policymakers typically socially construct

target populations in positive and negative terms and distribute benefits and burdens as to

reflect and perpetuate these constructions (Ingram Schneider amp deLeon 2009) Since

the 1980s policy theorists turned to the policy design approach that was initially

proposed to address the mass of variables that affect the design selection

implementation and evaluation of public policy (Simon 1981 Schneider and Ingram

1988) The theoryrsquos core rationale is based upon past work on the social construction of

knowledge in terms of positive or negative connotations (Edelman 1964 1988) and

policy designs (Dryzek 1990) For public employment-based program managers who are

assisting young African American males in the transition to work process the theory

proposes that while all citizens are supposed to be equal before the law there is ample

evidence that they receive very different treatment in the public policy process (Ingram

et al 2009) Policy designs are observable phenomena found in statutes administrative

guidelines programs and even the practices and procedures of street-level bureaucrats

(Schneider amp Ingram 1997) Policy designs are difficult to overcome because a

sequence of previous policies based on a particular framing of target populations helps

produce hegemony the public media and policymakers take this set of values for

granted as normal or natural and rarely question them when engaging in politics (Pierce

et al 2014) For example if most people assume that people in poverty deserve little

government help because they are largely responsible for their fate policymakers have

little incentive to intervene (Schneider amp Ingram 1997) Policy design sends a signal to

the recipients of benefits or burdens who participate more or less according to how they

are treated or characterized by the government (Schneider amp Ingram 1997) This view

may help explain why public workforce policies and practices at some agencies such as

WDA Workforce Agency tend to direct young African American males to job training

in the maintenance department as opposed to customer service support

Schneider and Ingram (1997) found that many well-intentioned policies reinforce

problematic social constructions and fail to address major socio-economic inequalities

For example the ldquoWar on Povertyrdquo in 1965 reinforced black stereotypes without solving

poverty and policy change built on an amnesty for or positive constructions of some

immigrants suggest that others are the wrong kinds of immigrants (Newton 2005

Bensonsmith 2005) Ingram et al (2007) depict these dynamics by describing two

spectrums one describes the positive or negative ways in which groups are portrayed by

policymakers and the other describes the resources available to groups to challenge or

reinforce that image There are four categories to describe target populations the

powerful and positively constructed are the advantaged groups the powerful and

negatively constructed are the contenders the powerless and positively constructed are

the dependents and the powerless and negatively constructed are the deviants The

advantaged groups are treated positively in public and receiving benefits (retired seniors

the elderly) the contenders are negatively constructed in public but negotiating benefits

privately (big banks and corporations) the dependents are constructed as deserving and

powerless (students children the handicapped) and finally the deviants are constructed

as underserving (welfare cheats sex offenders young minority males)

Schneider and Ingram (1997) argue that although the US political system may

meet some standards of fairness or openness the policies they produce may not be

conducive to democracy They describe an increasingly individualistic US system with

declining rates of collective political participation a tendency for actors to seek benefits

for their populations and a lsquodegenerativersquo policy that produces major inequalities along

with sex race and ethnicity lines (Schneider amp Ingram 2005) In particular Ingram et

al (2009) outlined three essential factors significant to socially constructed target

populations First social constructions of target populations are important political

attributes that often become embedded in political discourse and the elements of policy

design Policymakers respond to and manipulate social constructions in building their

political base (Ingram Schneider amp deLeon 2009) Second there are many cases of

research revealing the long -term impact of policy design on group identities political

orientations and political participation and that groups receiving positive messages and

resources from the public policy are more politically active than others with similar

characteristics (Campbell 2013) Lastly public policy design for negatively constructed

target groups generally results in those group members becoming more marginalized and

less active in politics The message that socially constructed target groups are

undeserving of the benefits being allocated is embedded in the policy design and

reinforced in the employment-based transition to work experience Ingram et al (2009)

indicated that scholars have not only shown that policy design affects individualsrsquo

political participation and orientations toward government but that policy designs may

inhibit or encourage the mobilization of grassroots organizations (Mettler and Welch

2004 Sidney 2005) For example Mara Sidney (2005) found that the design of the

Community Reinvestment Act which focused on economic development in low-income

inner-city high-minority population neighborhoods discouraging mobilization (Ingram

Schneider amp deLeon 2009)

Suzanne Mettlerrsquos (2002) study of policy design through which GI educational

benefits were conferred demonstrated that many elements of the policy reinforced the

message that these groups were especially deserving of benefits Mara Sidneys (2003)

study of fair housing policy shows that policymakers subdivided target populations by

separating the ldquoblack middle classrdquo from the ldquoblack urban classrdquo to justify providing

benefits for the former Crowley and Watson (2005) found that policy designs for so-

called ldquodeadbeat dadsrdquo who fail to make child support payments to their former spouses

for dependent children differ depending on whether the children are supported by public

assistance The policy design for fathers whose children require public assistance is

punitive punishing them for having children as opposed to ldquodead beat dadsrdquo who do not

have children receiving public assistance (Crowley and Watson 2005) Schneider and

Ingram (1993) articulated the application of social construction within their approach to

understanding the policy process While they understand social construction to mean the

ldquovarying ways in which realities are shapedrdquo this view does not embrace the more

common relativistic conception of social construction advocated by those closely aligned

to constructivism (Schneider amp Ingram 1993) Rather Schneider and Ingramrsquos brand of

social construction relies on a variant of bounded relativity where meaning varies by

context but does so in a systemic and generalizable fashion (Sabatier 2007) In

specifying the generalizable constructs of their theory Schneider and Ingram (19931997)

seek to illuminate how policy designs shape the social construction of a policyrsquos targeted

population the role of power in this relationship and how policy design shape politics

and democracy (Pierce Siddiki Jones Schumacher Pattison amp Peterson 2014)

Ingram et al (2009) explained that social construction and policy design theory

were developed to gain a better understanding of why public policies sometimes fail to

meet their purpose of solving public problems supporting democratic institutions or

producing greater equality of citizenship To that end the theory addressed the socially

constructed values applied to targeted populations and knowledge and the consequent

impact these values have on people and democracy (Pierce et al 2014)

The theory generally conceives of power as having three dimensions The first is

primarily concerned with observable behavior influence and conflict The second

dimension is broader concerned with not only what can be observed but also with what

is not present such as the ability to keep policies off the agenda and the third dimension

of power is concerned with the ideology and the potential for entities to influence the

very rationale for the creation of preferences The third set of assumptions related to the

political environment and concern how policies send messages to citizens that affect

orientations and participation and how policies are created in an environment of political

uncertainty (Schneider amp Ingram 1997 Kingdon1984) According to Schneider and

Ingram (1997) the theory of social construction and policy design includes all three

dimensions of power Consequently studies examining the third assumption of power are

likely better suited for in-depth case study approaches (Pierce et al 2014) The

assumptions described in these categories-the model of the individual power and the

political environment- interact to inform two core propositions within social construction

and policy design theory the target population and recipients of policy benefits or

burdens (Schneider amp Ingram 1997) For young African American males who turn to

public employment-based programs to address prolonged joblessness policy design has

significant impacts on the transition to the employment process In this case study the

goal is to explore the perceptions of public workforce professionals at one public

workforce agency to gain insights into the impact of social constructions policy design

and the implications of policy misalignments

Ingram et al (2007) found that policy design affects participants through the

rules of participation messages conveyed to individuals resources such as funding

Ingram et al (2007) suggest that policy design structure opportunities and sending

varying messages to differently constructed target groups about how governments behave

and how they are likely to be treated by the government The allocation of benefits and

burdens to target groups in public policy depends upon the extent of political power and

their positive or negative social construction on the deserving and undeserving axis

(Ingram et al 2007) According to Ingram et al (2007) those who are advantaged have

a relatively high amount of power and are positively constructed They are expected to

receive a disproportionate share of benefits and few burdens The term ldquotarget

populationsrdquo identify those groups who receive benefits and burdens through the various

elements of policy design to achieve some public purpose (Schneider amp Ingram 2014)

Professional Literature Employment and Job Training

Despite the recognition that public employment agencies and workforce training

initiatives influence social political and economic factors concerning the world of work

for many very little research exist that fully examines the perceptions and experiences of

public workforce professionals involved in the transition to work process with target

populations (Heinrich 2016 ) Thus the employment-based and job training literature

continues to rely on traditional models of workforce development strategies and

perceived social economic and cultural factors The Workforce Innovation and

Opportunity Act (WIOA 2016) provides for comprehensive realignment of the nationrsquos

workforce development programs For 2016 the US federal government appropriated

more than $69 billion to states for WIOA programs and approximately $34 billion in

federal formula funding for partner programs for a total of $105 billion in federal

funding Public workforce agencies such as WDA have dedicated resources and

personnel to the task of assisting low-income and minority populations during the process

of obtaining employment

For young African American males who request assistance finding a job but lack

basic skills or face significant barriers to employment many can access employment-

based training and other resources under the Adult Services Education and Literacy

program (WIOA 2016) A study by the Center on Education and the Workforce at

Georgetown University shows that in 2013 the three most common jobs for young men

of color were cooks retail sales clerk and non-construction labor Francis (2013) found

that public employment-based programs may help participants achieve modest increases

in earnings however research indicated that existing studies do not capture the full

impact on participants or society because of lack of understanding of different

interventions and limitations imposed by policy designs (Heinrich 2016 McConnell et

al2016) Research has also shown that negative stereotypes and perceptions about

young African American males suggest that they lack the motivation resilience and

interpersonal skills required to obtain meaningful employment (Quane Wilson and

Hwang 2015)

Due to employment disparities young African American males are unemployed

out of proportion to their numbers In many cities their share of joblessness exceeds 40

percent (Cherry 2015) When young African American males make up such a high

proportion of the jobless racial stereotypes among employers and the police are

significantly reinforced (Cherry 2015) In most cases these factors compound already

existing employment barriers facing young African American males Understanding

perceived employment barriers facing both young African American males and program

professionals during the transition to employment process can improve both the quality of

work as well as the length of employment What has greatly limited our understanding of

perceived employment barriers facing young African American males may concern the

perceptions of program professionals and the social construction and policy designs

impacting these populations (Ingram et al 2009) There is a gap in the literature

regarding the perceptions experiences and interactions of public employment program

professionals who are assisting young African American males involved in the transition

to work process

African American Males Prolonged Joblessness

American firms have become far more diverse than any time in our nationrsquos

history and yet it has become clear that certain racial groups continue to experience

significantly higher rates of prolonged joblessness and unemployment (Quane et al

2015) Bureau of Labor Statistics (2015) data indicated that among major racial groups

African American men particularly young black males continue to show significantly

higher employment disparities and periods of prolonged joblessness than any other racial

or ethnic group (BLS 2015) Kathryn Edinrsquos(2015) study linked joblessness of African

American males to family breakup and multi-partner fertility for black mothers

Biological fathers who are jobless consistently move away and abandon their children

Pagerrsquos (2011) study found that along with job search challenges in the labor markets

young African American males face barriers associated with lack of work experience

lack of education racial discrimination housing conditions demographics involvement

in the criminal justice system and poor family relationship

Spaulding et al (2015) reported that all too often low-income young African American

males have little opportunity to be exposed to various career paths gain valuable work

experience or build employment histories

Cherry Robert and Chun (2015) explained that high rates of joblessness and

unemployment for young African American males are disproportionate and mask the

fact that prolonged joblessness is often influenced by other factors including cultural

behavioral political and societal factors Cherry et al (2015) found that inner-city

neighborhoods are often where many of these dynamics collide and yet young African

American males exposed to these conditions are expected to share the aspirations and

expectations of their counterparts in better-off communities (p 197) To address these

gaps and obtain employment many young African American males turn to the

community and public employment-based development services (WIOA 2016)

Cherry (2016) explained that rioting in Milwaukee over the police killing of an

African American male has reanimated the issue of longstanding black joblessness

Between 2010 and 2014 Milwaukeersquos average rate of black joblessness was 54 percent

compared to rates of only 17 and 26 percent respectively among the cityrsquos white and

Latino young male population However the pervasive prolonged unemployment of

young African American males goes well beyond such deindustrialized cities and its

effects are devastating on both the individuals themselves and their families (Cherry et

al 2016) Additionally research has shown that prolonged joblessness of young African

American males is strongly linked to child maltreatment (Cherry et al 2016) Using

state-level data Cherry et al (2016) found that for each one percent increase in the black

male jobless rate the overall child maltreatment rate for their families increased by

almost one percent The differential joblessness rates among racial groups help to explain

the racial disparities in child maltreatment rates The large disparities for young African

Americans males are also an index of the impact of social isolation for these populations

(Cherry et al 2016) For young African American males the impact of living in high

poverty neighborhoods results in a deficient network of contacts related to employment

opportunities

The combined impact of racial discrimination and lack of social networks help

explain why young African American males experience substantially higher rates of

prolonged joblessness than any other major racial group (Cherry et al 2016) The

impact of involvement in the justice system contributed to employment barriers facing

young African American males According to the Bureau of Justice (BJS 2003) one in

three African American males and one in four Hispanic Latino males can expect to be

incarcerated during their lifetime (Sentencing Project 2013) Research has shown that the

ldquoban the boxrdquo initiative ie not checking criminal justice information until the end of the

hiring process has improved employment prospects for black men seeking jobs (Cherry

et al 2016)

Public Workforce Literature Unemployed African American Males

The advancement of African Americans in corporate America has been

remarkable over the past five decades and yet certain groups among African American

populations still face significant barriers to employment (Bureau of Labor Statistics

2015) To obtain employment many young African American males turn to public

employment-based initiatives and community-based workforce development services

(WIOA 2016) Studies have indicated that public employment-based initiatives and

programs may help some participants achieve modest increases in earnings however

research shows that for negatively socially constructed target groups the long- term

impact of policy designs also influenced group identities political orientations and

political participation (Francis 2013 Schneider amp Ingram 1997 Esping-Anderson

Public workforce program studies show that very little research has examined the

perceptions interactions and experiences of employment-based program professionals

assisting young African American males during the job placement process and may

have overlooked the impact of workforce policies and practices on the transition to work

process for these participants (Francis 2013 Heinrich 2016) African American males

particularly young men continue to show significantly higher employment disparities

than any other racial or ethnic groups despite changes in technology and significant

improvements in the economy (BLS 2015) The WIOA was signed by President Obama

in 2014 becoming the first update to the nationrsquos core employment-based and workforce

training program in the 16 years since the passage of the Workforce Investment Act

(WIA) A deal great has changed in the labor markets over the past two decades and

evidence has shown that the workforce system has not kept up with demand (Heinrich

2016) Low-skilled and low-income workers face more barriers than ever to securing a

job This study will focus on the interactions of public workforce professionals at one

public workforce agency in New York City The focus of WDA Workforcersquos policies

concerned serving the most vulnerable individuals entering the workforce The WDA

organization has programs designed to improve employment-based training adult

education and vocational rehabilitation programs that can benefit workers and their

families

Research has shown that over 36 million adults in the US have low skills (eg

limited work experience education) particularly African American males (WIOA 2016)

The rate of low-skills and literacy among African Americans is two times higher than it is

among adults generally and the gap is even higher among Hispanic adults at 43 percent

having low levels of literacy and 56 percent having low skills (WIOA 2016) WDA

Workforce programs and policies explicitly state that low-income people and those with

barriers to employment are priority populations for funding and services Ingram et al

(2009) suggested that terms such as ldquotarget populationrdquo or ldquotarget groupsrdquo are often used

through the various elements of policy design to identify those groups chosen to receive

benefits or burdens during the policy implementation process

Public Workforce Employment Training Young African American Males

Studies have indicated that public employment-based programs may help some

participants achieve modest increases in earnings Numerous researchers believe that

existing studies do not capture the full impact on participants or society because of the

time limits imposed by the policy designs lack of understanding of perceived

employment barriers involving public workforce professionals and participants or the

fact that they ignore most impacts other than those on earnings (Francis 2013

McoConnel et al2016) These factors are profound concerning conditions and barriers

facing young African American males who participate in public employment-based

initiatives to obtain employment Research shows that more and more African American

males turn to public workforce training programs such as (WDA) as a means of creating

a pathway to employment (WIOA 2016)

Workforce Development Agency (WDA) originally focused on the need for

strategies and employment training adult education and vocational rehabilitation

programs under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA 2015) The focus of public

workforce policies and programs tend to concern improving employment and training

opportunities for low-skilled and low-income workers that will lead to economic

prosperity for themselves and their families (WIOA 2016) Those policies include

increases to the focus on low-income adults and youth who have limited skills lack of

work experience and face other barriers to employment As well as policies and

programs to expand education and training options and help disadvantaged and

unemployed adults earn while they learn through community-based employment training

(WIOA 2016) Public workforce policies created opportunities for leaders and advocates

in state and local communities to rethink reshape and expand current employment-

based and workforce systems that are grounded in research and experience to improve

the employability of disadvantaged individuals

These public workforce policies and programs also create an opportunity to

leverage systemic change across currently disconnected training systems and better

enable state and local government to implement cross-systems approaches to tackle

prolonged joblessness among unemployed African American males as well as low-

skilled low-income disadvantaged groups (WIOA 2016) Public workforce objectives

show that low-income people and those with barriers to employment are considered

priority populations for funding and services Public workforce policies and programs

take into account that many young African American males living in high-poverty

communities have less access to employment as well as fewer opportunities to gain early

work experience and develop the skills needed to advance in the current workplace One

of the WDArsquos programs (2016) provided an array of work-based training strategies and

employment-based approaches to benefit disadvantaged and low-income individuals

Public workforce employment-based training allows underprepared adults and

young people the opportunity to earn income while also developing essential skills that

are best learned on the job Research has shown that individuals with barriers to

employment often need a comprehensive set of supports that involve multiples public and

private systems to help earn secondary and postsecondary credentials and with the

transition to employment process (WIOA 2016 US Dept of Labor 2016)

Public Workforce Program Professionals Strategies and Intervention

The major objectives of public workforce programs are to give employment-based

training professionals the support in assisting targeted groups such as young African

American males involved in the transition to work process Few of WDArsquos policies and

programs direct resources to employment program professionals to ensure that strategies

to address the problem of joblessness are comprehensive in design as well as access to

participants The role of an employment-based program manager has been debated over

the past decade (Holzer 2009) The role of the employment-based training manager as

defined by WIOA standards entails addressing implementing evaluating and enhancing

strategies that promote participant success in the transition to work process (WIOA

2016) Public employment-based program professionals are also in a position to serve as

advocates for unemployed participants such as young African American males in areas

of social development They can implement strategies designed to help unemployed

African American males develop skills needed to address challenges and barriers

involved in the transition to work process

African American Males The Hidden Unemployed

Cherryrsquos (2016) study of unemployed young African American males paints a

grim picture particularly in certain cities like Chicago Detroit Milwaukee

Philadelphia Baltimore New York and DC The US Census Bureaursquos American

Community Survey gathered data on the jobless rate of non-institutional men 20 to 34

years old averaged over the period from 2010-2014 for 34 major cities In these cities

there were more African American males either jobless or imprisoned than employed

(Cherry 2016) The national jobless rate for young African American males was 39

percent versus about 22 percent for both white and Latino young men (US Census

Bureau 2014) Cherry (2016) noted that these statistics show that weak labor markets

cannot be the most important reason for the prolonged joblessness of young African

American males These large disparities illustrate the impact of the social isolation

affecting young African American males

Cherry (2016) argued that simply expanding employment and job training

opportunities would likely have only a modest effect on the jobless rates for these

participants Francisrsquo (2013) reported that a large body of evidence indicated that

employment-based and job training programs help participants modestly increase their

earnings however researchers believe that existing studies do not capture the full impact

of employment-based experiences on participants or society because they do not follow

participants for long enough periods or ignore most impacts other than those on earning

(Francis 2013 King amp Heinrich 2012 Heinrich 2016)

Kathryn Edinrsquos (2015) study found that prolonged joblessness for African

American males had direct ramifications for the black family Edinrsquos (2015) linked

joblessness to family break-up causing many mothers to enter into sequential sexual

relationships Biological fathers who are jobless move away and abandon their children

which had particularly harmful effects on their children A growing number of black

mothers are having children with more than one partner The men who enter into these

new relationships often father additional children These new fathers are caring towards

their biological children however harsh with children from previous relationships (Edin

2015) Terms such as ldquoblack male unemploymentrdquo puzzle and epidemic have been used

to describe the current unemployment woes of African American males (Cherry 2016)

The most recent calculated national unemployment rate for black men ages 16 to

24 years and is twice that of their white counterparts (120 compared to 55 US

Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics 2017) Cherry (2016) also found that

the labor force participation rate for African American men was even more critical which

continues to lag at least 7 percentage points behind the rates of all men Cherry (2016)

noted that the limitation of such traditional unemployment data was that they do not

count the ldquohidden unemployedrdquo those who want to work and need a job but who do not

actively seek employment Research has shown that many young African American

males join the ranks of the hidden unemployed because of barriers to employment and

from growing discouragement during the transition to work process (Cherry 2016

Bowman 2014) Cherry found that individuals who become ldquodiscouragedrdquo and who are

not actively looking for a job are not considered part of the official labor force and are

not counted in official unemployment data He suggests that many young African

American males join the ranks of the hidden unemployed because they believe that no

work is available related to their employment experiences believe that they lack the

necessary schooling training or work experience to obtain work experienced

discrimination or barriers related to the justice system or had tried but could not find a

job (Cherry 2016)

African American Males Unemployment Current Statistics

The US Department of Labor reported that the most recently calculated national

unemployment rate for black males ages 20 to 24 is nearly twice that of white males

(143 compared to 81 Bureau of Labor Statistics 2017) The same is true among the

25 years and older population with the unemployment rate for black men at 56

compared to 33 for white men Higher unemployment and lower labor force

participation means that the percentage of black males with a job is significantly lower

than the percentage of all males with a job (US Department of Labor 2017) The overall

unemployment rate was 44 including 75 for Black or African American and 51

percent for people of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity (Bureau of Labor Statistics 2017)

US Department of Labor reported that about one-quarter of blacks in the labor

force in 1976 was in the 20-to-24-year-old group The share of blacks in that group

declined in 2017 and is projected to continue declining over the next decade Wilson

(2014) suggested that black unemployment is high for several reasons including that

African Americans have become more resilient at maintaining their job search The key

to understanding Wilsonrsquos point is keeping in mind that unemployment doesnrsquot measure

the number of people who are ldquounemployedrdquo or without a job (Rosen 2014) What the

unemployment rate measures are how many people are considered ldquoactivelyrdquo seeking

work If individuals temporarily give up the search for work he or she is no longer

counted as part of the population of the unemployed (Rosen 2014) According to the data

from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (2017) not only is a greater share of African

American males out of work but they seem to continue to seek work longer than their

white counterparts Wilson (2015) suggested that these data points indicate when blacks

lose their jobs they stick to their job search longer than white Americans and yet many

fall into the category of the ldquohidden unemployedrdquo It is well known among labor-market

analysts that African Americans are less likely to be employed than members of other

major racial groups (Rosen 2014) One possible cause would be lower levels of

education only 23 of African American adults have at least a bachelorrsquos degree

compared to 36 of whites (Cherry 2016) However a study by Cajner Radler Ratner

and Vidangos (2017) found that differences in education alone are not significant enough

to account for the size of the disparity Using data from 1976 to 2016 Cajnerrsquos group

designed a statistical model based on four factors they expected to account for variations

in unemployment between African Americans and whites education age marital status

and the state where individuals reside Among African American males and whites these

variables collectively explained about one-fifth of the differences in joblessness between

these populations (Cajner et al 2017) A report by Caleb Gayle (2018) found that

despite the booming economy one major racial group has been left behind African

American males Gayle (2018) reported that every month seemingly Donald Trump uses

Twitter to trumpet how well black people have done under his presidency However

national numbers in a nation as large as the United States can be misleading The impact

of all things racial has left many neighborhoods divided and segregated and that leads to

a perpetuation of things like poverty and lack of opportunity and the real African

American unemployment situation remains hidden (Gayle 2018)

African American Male Unemployment Explanation Theories

Research has shown that biological socioeconomic and cultural factors have

been attributed to African American male unemployment (Darity 2005 Murray 1984

Bowman 1991) These theories presented arguments regarding African American

unemployment that ranged from biological to human capital and often suggested that

African American males are systemically discriminated upon in the labor market in

education and job training and the criminal justice system (Murray 1994 Whitehead

2005) Darityrsquos (2005) study found that anti-black racism can be traced back to the

enslavement of Africans in the sixteenth century and the central attributes of anti-black

racism are the beliefs in the intellectual moral and cultural inferiority of black people

(p16) Yancy (2004) found that white imagery constructed the black body as flesh and

blood upon which white myths and desires could be projected Yancy (2004) implied that

the idea of ldquoAfrican American servituderdquo was not socially constructed by black

oppression but rather servitude was believed to be the result of traits due to natural

selection (p339) Yancy (2004) argued that the enslavement of African males in

particular made the socially constructed division of labor appear written into the very

framework of biological and social reality (p339) These theories about African

American males continue to influence society and labor markets and are used in

discussions regarding prolonged joblessness and unemployment involved African

American males

One of the most widely known human capital arguments has been linked to

Charles Murrayrsquos (1984) study on poverty and unemployment of minority groups

Murrayrsquos (1984) book ldquoLosing Groundrdquo attributed the increases of African American

male unemployment to the Great Society programs of the 1960s which were expected to

eliminate poverty Murray (1984) argued that the increased availability of welfare

benefits to low-income individuals created incentives for young black men to embrace

unemployment African American males could now ldquosurviverdquo from welfare benefits

provided to their female partners while seeking illegal means or informal means of

acquiring income (p48) These views expanded the ldquoculture of povertyrdquo perspective

which suggested that programs designed to assist the poor instead increased dependency

on government and encouraged dysfunctional behavioral problems (Murray 1984)

Lawrence Meadrsquos study (1992) suggested that poor black people particularly

black males acclimatize to a state of helplessness and engaged in self-defeating behavior

Mead argued that ldquoGreat Societyrdquo programs did little to address poverty and in effect

created a dysfunctional culture for black people Mead implied that black culture in

America illustrates how social construction creates employment barriers and influenced

the attitude of African American males about the reality of obtaining employment

(p148) Human capital generally defined as investments in education employment

training and other activities that raise the productive capacity of people (Whitehead

2005) Therefore the human capital model explains joblessness in terms of deficits that

reduce individual productivity as related to education skills and motivation Whitehead

(2005) implied that the human capital model attributes the lower-income and joblessness

of African American males to their supposed below-average productivity and lower

investment in human capital development (p 94) However this human capital

perspective on joblessness for African American males fails to consider the impact of

racial discrimination and employment barriers on human capital development

Cherry (2016) found that African American male unemployment and joblessness

are caused by the unequal distribution of human capital resulting from discriminatory

practices in job training and labor markets Several theorists have implied that African

American males choose not to work long term and that their resistance to working

consistently is embedded in the nature and culture of the black experience (Harrison

1992 Murray 1984) Harrison (1992) suggested that negative attitudes towards

employment are rooted in the experience of slavery and are infused in African American

values about work education and human capital development Harrison implied that

African Americans who migrated from the south brought these attitudes and behavioral

traits with then to the urban North where they were reinforced by the social construction

of minority populations He also suggested that African American males do not suffer as

much from poverty in general as they do from ldquomoral povertyrdquo (Harrison 1992)

African American Males Education

Levin (2014) indicated that there are multiple determinants of economic progress

however few single factors can have the same impact as education Education prepares

individuals to lead productive lives in society and develops skills essential for

participation in the labor force According to Fuller (2005) higher levels of educational

achievement provides for greater access to better employment opportunity and greater

security Those who fail to graduate from high school face very bleak prospects because

the basic skills developed during the educational process are essential in the workforce

(Levin 2014) McElroy and Andrews (2000) implied that African American males have

been blamed for their prolonged joblessness because they have not prepared themselves

for the workforce However studies have shown that African American males have made

significant progress in education over the past five decades (McElroy amp Andrews 2000)

The idea that lack of investment in education alone explains African American male

joblessness fails to tell the full story

Gordon Gordon and Nembbard (2004) found that the issue of African American

male education is much broader than the attainment of a degree or completion of higher

levels of education Their research has shown that African American male college

graduates continue to earn much less than their white counterparts McElroy and

Andrews (2000) reported that in 1964 only 24 of black males age 25 and over had

completed high school However by 1998 that figure had tripled to 75 and yet

African American males continued to earn significantly less than their white counterparts

The primary issues related to African American male education continue to concern poor

quality of schools the unequal access to facilities for formal education poor academic

socialization the lack of family support for education and the lack of appropriate job

training (Whitehead 2005) According to Whitehead (2005) African American male

joblessness the lack of employment experience and low-educational achievement are

largely caused by social cultural and economic factors Whitehead found that low

funding of schools in black neighborhoods and soft curriculum that does not prepare

students for college contribute significantly to challenges facing unemployed African

American males Additional research has shown that teachers in the US have negative

expectations of African American male students in general and that they have even lower

expectations for non-submissive African American male students (Ross amp Jackson

African American Males Job Mismatch amp Employment Skills

Research has shown that shifts in employment hiring within growing sectors

primarily benefited those individuals with formal education aligning with professional

technical and managerial positions that were created (Wilson 2004 Moss amp Tilly

1996) For young African American males who tend to be less educated than their white

counterparts these shifts resulted in the loss of employment opportunities Wilson (2004)

suggested that these shifts in staffing tend to benefit individuals who could obtain formal

training and had at least some years of post-secondary education Wilson noted ldquoskills

mismatchrdquo dramatically hurt employment prospects for young African American males

(p154) Wilson added that the expanded suburbanization of employment resulting from

industrial restructuring has also exacerbated the problem of prolonged joblessness for

young African American males Expanding industries continue to locate in areas where

inner-city residents particularly young African American males face significant

geographical barriers related to lengthy commute time or even gaining access to

transportation (Wilson 2004)

The job mismatch results in many young African American males being deprived

of role models as the more skilled and educated in the workforce move out of the inner

city to areas where better opportunities can be obtained (Wilson 2004) The polarization

of the African American community has contributed to the barriers facing young African

American males who seek to enter the labor markets Research has shown that changes in

the economy affirmative action programming and anti-discrimination policy have

resulted in vastly different employment opportunities for segments of the African

American community (Wilson 2004) While some African Americans are achieving

economic prosperity many in these socially constructed or ldquotargeted populationsrdquo are

falling deeper into poverty Wilson suggests that labor markets remain stratified by race

and for many young African American males educational attainment has not reduced

prolonged joblessness (Wilson 2004)

African American Males Racial Discrimination

Wilson (2015) implied that even with all the economic and employment process

African Americans have made in the last 25 years they are still not on par with their

counterparts In particular young African American males face a series of unique

problems from the design of workforce policies and the practices of the organizations or

the actions of management African American males were not allowed to participate in

the most desirable jobs and institutions for many decades Barriers to employment for

African American males include the lack of access to networks and the complex

interactions of racially motivated negative attitudes (Weller amp Fields 2011) Wilson

(2015) suggested that anti-black racism in hiring has been unchanged since at least 1989

while anti-Latino racism may have decreased modestly Wilson indicated that on average

white applicants receive 36 more callbacks than equally qualified African Americans

while Latinos receive a10 higher rate of callbacks Discrimination can be difficult to

measure in different situations and until recently they have been limited information that

could be used to reliably assess changes in discrimination (Wilson 2015) What the

evidence has indicated is that at the initial point of entry-hiring decisions- African

Americans remain substantially disadvantaged relative to white applicants (Wilson

Research has shown that assessments of subtle forms of racial discrimination and

unconscious bias have only indicated modest changes over time (Bucknor 2015) African

American males face employment discrimination as requirements for soft skills such as

interaction ability and motivation skills are high (Desilver 2013) African American

males face challenges from informal social networks assumption of incompetence from

white co-workers clients supervisors and face many forms of racial bias Similar

findings were found regarding African American female workers (Desilver 2013)

African American Males Employer Discrimination

African American males have experienced a long history of direct racial

discrimination in the workplace (Stoll 2005) Stoll suggested that racial discrimination of

young African American males demonstrates that employer discrimination takes place

either through statistical discrimination or racial animus (p 301) Neckerman and

Kirscherman (1991) found that during recruitment stages employers tend to avoid inner-

city populations The evidence suggests that employers avoided these populations or

groups because they expected to find lower quality workers who lacked the necessary

skills The perceptions of employers were based on ideas that inner-city African

American males lacked work ethic had a poor attitude about work and were unreliable

Neckerman and Kirscherman (1991) also suggested that racial discrimination during the

interview phase was so prevalent that evidence indicated employers used subjective tests

of productivity and character to eliminate applicants who were black or poor Their study

suggested that many employers perceived young African American males to be

dishonest about their work records and skills Kirscherman (1991) stated that employers

complained that young African American males were consistently unprepared for work

and lacked the enthusiasm to do the job Some employers even suggested that young

African American males were not willing to ldquoplay by the rulerdquo or ldquogo along with the

gamerdquo (Neckerman amp Kirscherman 1991 p 442) Mead (1992) noted that for young

African American males institutions outside of the welfare system tend to present the

most significant challenges to the transition to the employment process

Young African American Males Incarceration and Child Support Policy

Selvaggi (2016) reported that African Americans males account for up to 15 of

the population in New Jersey yet account for 60 of individuals incarcerated It is

critical when discussing incarceration and how it affects support payments more

importantly child support debt to identify if there are any predetermined racially

discriminatory guidelines Krul (2013) found that 1 in 29 children has a parent behind

bars and 1 in 9 African American children (11) had a parent behind bars Holzer and

Offner (2004) found that child support enforcement and incarceration has not improved

the problem of joblessness for young African American males and in fact has

exacerbated the problem of prolonged unemployment for these populations Krul (2013)

further found that incarceration significantly reduces the life chances for young African

American males and increases recidivism as a result of barriers created by the criminal

justice system For example parole guidelines require individuals to find work pay child

support and yet many prison release programs do not provide adequate skills training or

even work resources to non-custodial fathers to help address child support demands

(Holzer amp Offner 2004) Research has shown that child support enforcement has become

more of a barrier to employment than means to provide an incentive for young African

American males to find work (Holzer amp Offner 2004 Western 2007)

Summary

As evidenced in the literature review much has been written about the

experiences of unemployed African American males and in some cases the public

program professionals assisting during the transition to work process However

researchers have focused attention on individuals who obtain employment at the end of

the process What the research lacks is information relevant to the perceived employment

barriers involving public workforce program professionals assisting young African

American males and the factors that can lead to missed opportunities between program

workforce professionals and these participants While public workforce program

inventions have been researched and indicate that some participants modestly increased

their earnings yet further research is needed to see how government community and

business institutions can align policies to improve employment opportunities for

unemployed young African American males (Spaulding et al 2015) Researchers found

that studies do not capture the full impact on participants or society because they do not

follow participants for long enough periods lack understanding of the perceptions and

interactions between program professionals and participants or ignore impacts other than

those related to earnings (Francis 2013 Heinrich 2016) While this literature is valuable

in our understanding of the employment experiences of young African American males

we have yet to analyze the perceptions of the public program professionals assisting

young African American males during the transition to work process

This study explored how perceived employment barriers misalignments of

policies and practices and policy design factors impacted the experiences and

intervention efforts of employment program professionals assisting individuals with the

transition into the labor market This section provided an overview of the literature and

conceptual framework relevant to the research study Chapter 3 will describe the research

methodology research design and approach rationale for the case study approach

research questions data collection and analysis ethical consideration and summary

Chapter 3 Methods

Introduction

This qualitative case study explored the perceptions and experiences of public

program workforce professionals assisting unemployed young African American males

during the transition to work process guided by theories of the social construction of

target populations and policy design The literature has shown that public workforce

programs help some participants modestly increase earnings yet further research is

needed to see how government community and business institutions can align policies

and practices more strategically to improve employment opportunities for young African

American males (McConnell et al 2016 Spaulding et al 2015) By viewing policy

changes in public workforce employment organizations in the context of social change

and policy design as it relates to disadvantaged groups such as young African American

males policymakers can better understand appreciate and address the needs of these

individuals However researchers found that existing studies do not capture the full

impact on participants or society because of limitations imposed by policy design the

lack of adequate employment-based policies and practices which guide the transition to

work process limited discussion of the misalignment of policies and practices and

because studies ignore most impacts other than those on earnings (Heinrich 2016

McConnell etal 2016) As a result unemployed young African American males

remain an underserved and underrepresented subpopulation in the public workforce

employment training environment Schneider et al (2009) found that policies typically

carve out certain populations to receive benefits or burdens and often embed positive and

negative social constructions of targeted groups These constructions serve to justify the

allocation of rewards and penalties within the policy and are critical to an understanding

of the way democracy functions (Schneider amp Ingram 2014) Schneider and Ingram

(1997) sought to illuminate how policy design shapes the social construction of a policyrsquos

target population the role of power in the relationship and how policy design ldquofeed

forwardrdquo to shape future policies and democracy(Schneider amp Ingram 2014) The

groupsrsquo designed classification ranges from those who are viewed as advantaged

contenders defendants or deviants Ingram et al (2014) argued there are various target

groups that such policies are either designed to benefit or burden Social construction and

policy design also support the notion that target populations receive benefits and burdens

based on the strength of their political power and social construction as positive or

negative (Schneider et al 2014) The theory of social construction of target populations

and policy design served to assist in exploring the research question and provide a lens

for examining the interplay of social construction and policy design within the context of

the public workforce experiences of public employment program manager assisting

unemployed young African American males

workforce professionals assisting young African American males during the transition to

work process guided by theories of social constructions and policy design as it is relevant

to these groups Information obtained from this research can be important towards

shaping how public workforce agencies and professionals address issues concerning

policy design and employment practices involving public workforce professionals

assisting young African American males Another intended purpose of the study was to

fill a gap in the scholarly literature to obtain a better understanding of the experiences of

public workforce employment managers assisting unemployed young African American

males during the process of transition into the job market This chapter is divided into

eight sections which include the methodology of the study participants involved in the

case study data collection research question alignment data analysis coding procedures

ethical considerations and summary I describe the methodology of the study explain

why a case study approach is appropriate describe the participants involved in the case

study discuss data collection and research questions discuss data analysis describe

coding procedures discuss trustworthiness explain ethical considerations and provide

the summary of Chapter 3

Research Design and Approach

I used a qualitative case study approach to explore the perceptions of public

transition into the job market The guiding research question What are public

employment program professionalsrsquo perceptions about the alignment of workforce

policies and practices that shape social constructions relevant to unemployed young

African American males involved in the transition to work process One goal of the study

was to determine whether there are existing gaps in the programs and policies that guide

the public workforce experience of program managers assisting unemployed young

African American males The research questions provided a link to the theoretical

foundation used in this study Ingram et al (2007) observed that public policy may fail to

solve important public problems perpetuate injustice fail to support democratic

institutions and produce unequal citizenship The incorporation of the social construction

of targeted population as part of policy design helped to explain why policies sometimes

deliberately fail in its nominal purpose (Ingram et al 2007) Denzin and Lincoln (2000)

explained that researchers use a case study approach when there is a need to explore a

problem from the perspective of the identified local population Case studies involve the

exploration of issues within a bounded system (Stake 1995) The case study approach

was considered after several other qualitative research methods were explored For

example the ethnographic approach was not considered because of the focus on the

behavior of a particular group of people The narrative approach was given some

consideration however the narrative approach focuses on the first-person account of

experience told in the form of a story which was not the goal of the study

Lincoln (1995) explained the goal of qualitative research work as an exploration

of the behaviors of humans within the context of their natural setting The researcher

explored the perceptions of public workforce professionals at one public agency in New

York City This agency (WDA) has dedicated and experienced program professionals

process The agency (WDA) also provided a full range of workforce capabilities across

many funding streams including WIOA and SSI Public workforce employment

program professionals were interviewed to discuss their perceptions of how policies and

practices impact young African American males during the transition to work process

The researcher aimed to interview public workforce professionals during off-hours (eg

before or after working hours) near the organizational setting The case study approach

was appropriate to the research topic as data can be collected from participants during

off-hours near their natural setting and in their own words

The literature has shown that public workforce programs and community-based

employment organizations help some participants modestly increase earnings however

the existing studies do not capture the full impact of the workforce experience on these

participants or society in general due to limitations imposed by policy design and the

lack of understanding of the perceptions of the program professionals assisting young

African Americans males during the transition to work process (Francis 2013 Heinrich

2016 McConnell et al 2016)

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the perceptions

experiences and challenges involving public workforce employment professionals

assisting young African American males during the transition to work process

Information obtained from this research can be significant in shaping how community-

based employment managers implement policies and practices to assist young African

American males during the transition into the job market The following research

objectives have also been identified To identify factors that contribute to misalignments

skills mismatch and lost job opportunities between public workforce employment

managers assisting young African American males One important aim of the study was

to explore how the perceptions experiences strategies interactions and challenges

involving public workforce employment professionals assisting young African American

males impact the transition to work process

Case Study

Mendoza (2007) explained that case studies are a form of qualitative research

designed to gather information about a setting or individuals to inform professional

practice or evidence-informed decision making in the policy realm (p 544) A case study

approach in a study should be considered under several conditions including (1) when

the researcher wants to cover contextual conditions because he or she believes they are

relevant to the phenomenon under study and (2) when the boundaries are unclear

between the phenomenon and context For this case study I interviewed program

directors employment program managers employment program trainers and workforce

program professionals to gain a better understanding of their perceptions of the alignment

of policies impacting the transition to work process for young African American males

Hathaway (1995) stated that qualitative research is most useful when participantsrsquo

voice and perceptions about their environment is presented Silverman (2001) implied

that researchers who employ qualitative research for their work commonly believe they

can provide a deeper understanding of how the world is constructed (p 32) The public

workforce employment managers involved in the study were interviewed to discuss their

perceptions of how policies and practices impact the transition to work process for young

African American males I wrote field notes on what he discussed with managers and

how they perceived these employment workshops Braun and Clarke (2006) provided the

data analysis framework based on a six-step guide for data and thematic analysis Out of

the data several themes emerged which provided insights into the impact of experiences

and interactions of public workforce professionals with young African American males

Schneider et alrsquos (2009) framework provided insight into viewing policy changes within

the context of the social construction of target population and policy design and how

benefits and burdens are allocated to some groups Schneider et al (2014) observed that

the theory of social construction of target population and policy design seeks to explain

why some groups receive advantageous recognition and others do not The researcher

selected one agency (WDA) location specifically for the following reasons (1) researcher

had previously observed employment-based workshops involving young African

American males at WDA and (2) the researcher was aware of the economic impact of

joblessness on young African American males in New York City The review of data

such as internal memoranda public statements policy financial records state and federal

filing and procedures was also used for the study

My past work experience with the unemployed assisted in the study by enabling

me to gather data and understand the nuisances involved in the public workforce

transition to the work process I used a triangulated research strategy Stake (1995)

explained triangulation as protocols utilized in a study to ensure accuracy and alternate

explanations Triangulation is needed in research in case ethical issues arise to help

confirm the validity of the process Stake (1995) stated in research utilizing multiple data

sources such as annual reports grant proposals and program surveys would help

eliminate any ethical issues In this study I interviewed the public workforce managers

employment program trainers and workforce program professionals of WDA to learn

how they perceived the policies and practices that had impacted the transition to work

process for young African American males

Recruitment of Participants

Participants for this study were recruited from one public workforce employment

agency operating in New York City WDA has provided public employment-based

training and community services for over three decades WDA provided a full range of

workforce strategies across several funding streams including WIOA and Supplemental

Security Income The selection of WDA location was based largely on the high rate of

joblessness and unemployment among young African American males New York City

was also considered because of the number of community-based employment agencies

tasked with assisting young African American males during the transition to work

process The participants for the project study were drawn from the number of workforce

program professionals employment-training managers and program directors involved

in WDA All participants for the study were contacted initially by social media or by

email Each participant received an email invitation to participate and some information

about the nature of the study To ensure the inclusion of good informants snowball

sampling techniques were used to select a group of public workforce program

professionals All participants selected for the study were considered based on years of

work experience and direct workforce training experience

All participants were required to sign an informed consent form All participants

agreed to meet with the researcher during off-hours from work (for example during

lunchtime and before and after work schedule -at their office location) The public

workforce employment program managers assisting young African American males

during the transition to the work process provided valuable insights regarding

perspectives and strategies related to employment experience One of the objectives of

this study was to recruit and interview the public employment-based program managers

and professionals who assisted young African American males during employment

placement I also utilized the snowball sampling and convenience sampling technique to

recruit employment-training participants

First I identified public workforce program professionals from social media

program directories articles and local newspapers Warren and Karner (2010) noted that

the snowball sampling technique is useful to find participants who are socially networked

to the researcherrsquos initial contact This technique is helpful because it allowed the

interviewee to connect another participant from his or her network to the researcher

(Warren amp Karner 2010) Convenience sampling is one of the easiest methods of

sampling because participants are selected based on availability and willingness to take

part Participants will be contacted by social media and email Only participants with

more than two years of work experience will be considered One aim of the recruitment

process is to find participants who have experience working with disadvantaged and low-

income populations The purpose of the recruitment of participants with experience

working with disadvantaged groups was to yield information relevant to policy design

and the social construction of target populations The decision to include participants

with public workforce development experience and experience working with

disadvantaged populations is important in terms of gaining insight into the policies and

practices that guide the transition to the work process Throughout the recruitment and

selection process all identities of participants were kept confidential During the entire

research project all participants were assigned a pseudonym

Ten public employment-based program professionals were selected to participate

in the research project at which time saturation had been reached The group consisted of

program professionals managers and directors All participants selected were required to

have worked for public employment-based workforce agencies and have some direct

experience assisting young African American males during the transition to the

employment process One important attribute of the ten participants selected for this

study was their commitment to assist young African American males during the

transition to the work process and assist in gaining meaningful employment in New York

Research Question Alignment

The interview questions were prepared to align with the guiding research questions in

Chapter 1 The researcher used the interview questions to guide the interview and the

follow-up interviews (Appendix A)

Research Questions What are public employment program professionalsrsquo perceptions

about the alignment of workforce policies and practices that shape the social

constructions relevant to unemployed young African American males involved in the

transition to work process

What are public workforce program managers rsquoperceptions about the relevance of

workforce policy design and social constructions impacting unemployed young African

American males during the workforce training experience

The Research Questions will guide the Interview Questions (Appendix A)

Data Collection

The primary method for data collection was in the form of in-depth and semi-

structured interviews Each participant was asked a series of questions during the

interview sessions Interviews were conducted near the office of participants (during

lunch before and after the start of the workday) and some follow up interviews were

conducted by phone The strength of the general interview guide approach is dependent

on the researcherrsquos ability to ensure that the same areas of information are collected from

each interviewee The sample size in a qualitative study is important A researcher wants

to reach saturation which will be realized once no new information or themes are

observed (Kuzel 1992) For this study saturation was reached after ten participants were

interviewed The initial interviews ranged from one hour to ninety minutes An interview

process was utilized to maintain some level of consistency For example before each

interview an email confirmation of time and location sent and the time frame for the

interview was clarified The research design included one interview per participant and

one follow up interviews (if necessary) Audiotape recorders were used during all

interview sessions including phone interviews with the consent of the participant It was

beneficial for the interviewer to begin with neutral descriptive information about the

phenomenon of interest be it a program activity or experience with the phenomenon of

interest (Merriam 2002) During interviews all information about participants should be

documented via audio video and backup notes (Merriam 2002) All data were

transcribed within two days of each interview Merriam (2002) found that analyzing the

data shortly after the interviews gives the researcher the opportunity allows the researcher

to gather more reliable and valid data Research suggests an audit trail be implemented in

such a case study to reduce the chance of biases in the data analysis (Guiffrida 2003) All

interview data were audio-recorded with a microphone The data gathered from the

interviews were transcribed verbatim by the researcher The data were analyzed by the

researcher to examine potential patterns or outcomes emerging from participants rsquo

responses The researcher also analyzed data collected from internal memoranda agency

websites public statements policy statements state and federal filings financial records

and procedures

Data Analysis

Data analysis was implemented during the same period as the data collection

process Merriam (2002) found that simultaneous data collection and analysis allows the

researcher the ability to make adjustments along the way even to the point of redirecting

the data collection process and allows comparisons of emerging concepts themes and

categories against subsequent data (p15) This type of data analysis process allows the

researcher an opportunity to gather and develop more reliable data (Merriam 2002) To

assist with the data analysis process the following strategy was implemented all audio-

taped interviews were transcribed at the end of each interview and a written journal of

each interview with the researcherrsquos impressions of the experience was maintained Field

notes also contributed to the data analysis process These notes contained written

accounts of the researchers rsquoexperiences during the entire research process Data gathered

from the research was later verified by participants I used participant verification to

increase the credibility and validity of the qualitative study by allowing the participants to

review the transcripts at the end of each interview session (Cohen amp Crabtree 2006)

There are several reasons for the researcher to consider verification by participants

including (1) it provides the opportunity for a researcher to understand and assess what

the respondent intended to do through his or her actions (2) it provides respondents the

opportunity to correct mistakes or misunderstandings (3) it provides the opportunity to

provide more details which were spurred on by the playback process( 4) it provides

respondents the opportunity to assess the adequacy of data and preliminary results or

aspects of the data and (5) It provides the opportunity to summarize preliminary finding

(Cohen amp Crabtree 2006) The data analysis process followed a strategy to further

develop the research That process involved steps to become familiar with the data steps

to organize the data into codes steps to develop themes from the data steps to modify

and develop preliminary themes into more refined themes and steps to identify the

essence of what each theme represents

Braun and Clarke (2006) provided a six-phase guide that was useful for

conducting data analysis for this study The six-phase framework described by Braun amp

Clarke include (1) become familiar with the data- read and re-read the transcripts and

become familiar with data corpus (2) Generate initial codes- use of open coding line-by-

line coding which means to develop and modify codes as you work through the data (3)

search for themes and for patterns that capture significant about the data (codes that fit

together can become themes) (4) review themes modify and develop the preliminary

themes identified earlier and determine whether the data support the theme (5) Define

the themes and identify the essence of what the theme is about and (6) writing up the

analysis of the data (usually the endpoint of the research results into a report)

For this qualitative study the same framework was utilized and included reading

and re-reading the transcripts from the interviews The data also included early notes and

impressions from the research The coding phase helps to reduce lots of data into small

chunks of data to provide insight into the study (Braun amp Clarke 2006) An inductive

process was used to analyze the data During the inductive process the researcher

searched for patterns of meaning in the data (Braun amp Clarke 2006) A coding process

was used to reduce data and to categorize the data simultaneously First open coding was

used for the research which means that pre-set codes will not be used Open coding was

used to first carefully read the data and condense the data into preliminary analytic

categories Important terms and themes were developed during this stage including

confronting barriers and stereotypes managing change and technology securing

employment and politics of the organizations

Open coding is a process of analyzing textual content and includes labeling

concepts and defining and developing categories There are several ways to do open

coding including line-by-line coding Open coding is generally the initial stage of

Qualitative Data Analysis (Braun amp Clarke 2006) After completing the open coding the

next steps involved identifying patterns or themes modify and develop more refined

themes and finally refinement to identify meaning within the themes The data analysis

process also incorporated the use of computer-assisted software NNvio to aid in

organizing the large quantity of textual data The process was on-going and new codes

were generated and sometimes existing codes are modified In the end the researcher

provided opportunities to respondents to provide their follow-up feedback add to their

perceptions and interpretations concerning his or her interview

Coding Procedures and Thematic Analysis

Braun and Clarke (2006) distinguished between a top-down or theoretical

thematic analysis that is driven by the specific research questions and analystrsquos focus

and a bottom-up or inductive one that is more driven by the data itself The analysis for

this study was driven by the research questions and followed more of the top-down than a

bottom-up approach An inductive process was used to analyze the data The researcher

searched for patterns of meaning in the data so that general statements about the

phenomena under investigation were made The inductive approach was not based on a

structured or predetermined framework The first important step in qualitative research is

to read and re-read the data The process of collecting and analyzing data involved

several important steps including transcribing data organizing data and coding of data

The coding process involved reducing the data to analytically categorize the data (Braun

amp Clarke 2006) The coding process is important in terms of creating a system for the

researcher to combine themes ideas and categories This process allows the researcher

the means of marking each passage of the text with a code to easily retrieve it at a later

time Most typically when coding researchers have some codes in mind and are looking

for ideas that seem to arise out of the data Researchers tend to question ldquowhat is going

onrdquo and ldquowhat are people doingrdquo to start the coding process A coding pattern can be

characterized by similarity difference frequency sequence and causation of things that

happen different ways things happen order that things happen and how often things

happen Coding is simply a structure on which reflection (via memo writing) happens

Saldana (2011) suggested that no one can claim final authority on the best method to

code qualitative data General introductory texts in qualitative inquiry are so numerous

and well-written that it becomes a challenge to find the one to use as the primary textbook

Coding is not a precise science and codes can sometimes summarize or condense data

not simply reduce it It is also important to think of patterns not just as stable regularities

but as varying forms such as similarities differences frequency sequence and causation

(Saldana 2011) In this study ten participants were selected and their responses to the

questions were used to create the coding and themes Since the study was based on the

participants rsquoperceptions codes and themes were created from the interview data and

included topics such as work environment motivation in workshops barriers to

employment workplace politics motivation toward training mentoring as an intervention

counseling as an intervention developing soft skills and communication skills The

coding process also involved developing categories and color coding which links

participant responses to the research questions

Thematic analysis was used for this study and assisted in reducing the data in a

flexible way that dovetails with other data analysis methods Braun and Clarke (2006)

suggest that thematic analysis is the first qualitative method that should be learned as it

provides core skills that will be important for conducting many other kinds of analysis

The goal of thematic analysis is to identify themes and patterns in important data and can

be used to address the research or inform an issue A good thematic analysis will not only

summarize the data however it may also help to interpret and make sense of the data

(Braun amp Clarke 2006) The researcher can use the answers of each participant to

demonstrate how the themes develop during the process The themes most likely to

emerge may focus on the participant role as an intervention and the interactions between

participants

Saldana (2011) explained that rarely will anyone get coding right the first time Recoding

can occur with a more attuned perspective using First Cycle methods again while Second

Cycle methods describe those processes that might be employed during the second and

third review of the data (p12) Some categories may contain clusters of coded data that

merit further refinement and subcategories And when the major categories are compared

with each other and consolidated in various ways one can begin to transcend the ldquorealityrdquo

of your data and progress toward the thematic conceptual and theoretical (Saldana 2011

p12) In this research study additional methods were considered including the use of

Vivo coding as a first cycle coding method In vivo coding refers to coding with a word or

short phrase from the actual language found in the qualitative data record Saldana (2011)

noted that NVivo and AnSWR all import and handle documents saved in rich text format

enabling the researcher to employ supplemental cosmetic coding devices such as colored

fonts bolding and italicizing in your data Data were analyzed using Braun and Clarkersquos

(2006) six-step process which involved reading and re-reading the transcripts to organize

data into codes and themes reducing the data to make meaning of the data modify the

data into preliminary themes then data was compared to refine themes and codes and

finally steps were taken to identify the essence of what each theme represents For this

study the interview transcripts were read in conjunction with the theory social

construction of target populations and policy design I developed a preliminary coding

framework to capture themes essential to the research questions and study From the initial

codes previously developed from the interview transcripts the remaining interviews were

read and analyzed At this stage the goal was to refine existing codes and take note of

those codes that remained constant across the review of all of the data The coding process

in case study research can use the text and data from the research to later create themes

Computer Software and Data Analysis

NVivo a qualitative data analysis (QDA) computer-assisted software program

was utilized to analyze the data collected organize the data and separate data into smaller

units of text The use of NVivo provided more robust segments of data which were later

labeled and developed into themes Qualitative data analysis computer-assisted software

programs can be quite invaluable in coding archiving and retrieving qualitative data in

the analysis process yet the software cannot read the text interpret the text or decide

what the data means ( American University 2016) The use of NVivo provided a very

useful tool in handling large quantities of textual data and for grouping vast volumes of

data and developing themes more effectively and efficiently for this study

Trustworthiness

In qualitative research the researcher attempts to investigate the realm of meaning

and strives for results that can be trusted (Guba amp Lincoln 1989) Trustworthiness implies

that the processes of the research will be carried out fairly and the conclusions will be

reported in a manner that is reflective of the experiences of the participants involved in the

study (Ely 1997) For this study the researcher worked to establish trustworthiness using

procedures outlined by Lincoln and Guba The researcher focused on developing rapport

with the participants maintained detailed notes and accurately audiotaped each interview

Lincoln and Guba (1985) propose four criteria that should be considered by qualitative

researchers in pursuit of a trustworthy study which includes credibility transferability

dependability and confirmability

Credibility

Lincoln and Guba (1985) described credibility as a means for establishing validity

and truth in research finding by providing the steps taken to check for accuracy and

reliability on ethical questions and overall use of information For this study the

researcher explored prolonged engagement with the phenomena and participants used

triangulation and member checking to enhance the credibility of the case study The

researcher increased the credibility of the qualitative study by allowing the participants to

review their transcripts Triangulation for this study involved viewing different aspects of

the public workforce employment experience from the perspective of interactions

between program professionals and participants member checking and document

analysis For this study participants were allowed to discuss their stories address any

misinterpretations clarify any responses or add additional data

Transferability

Merriam (2002) writes that since the findings of a qualitative project are specific

to a small number of particular environments and individuals it is impossible to

demonstrate that the findings and conclusions apply to other situations and populations

Stake (1995) suggests that although each case may be unique it is also an example within

a broader group and as a result the prospect of transferability should not be immediately

rejected Lincoln and Guba (1985) maintain that since the researcher knows only the

sending context he or she cannot make transferability inferences Ultimately the results

of a qualitative study must be understood within the context of the particular

characteristics of the organization or organizations and perhaps the geographical area in

which the fieldwork is carried out (Stake 1995)

Dependability

Lincoln and Guba (1985) stated that in addressing the issue of reliability the

positivist employs techniques to show that if the work were repeated in the same

context with the same methods and with the same participants similar results would be

obtained Stake (1995) note that the changing nature of the phenomena scrutinized by

qualitative researchers renders such provisions problematic in research However

Lincoln and Guba (1985) stress the close ties between credibility and dependability

arguing that in practice a demonstration of the former goes some distance in ensuring

the latter This may be achieved through the use of overlapping methods such as

individual interviews and the focus group

Confirmability

Patton (2002) associates objectivity in science with the use of instruments that are

not dependent on human skill and perception The concept of confirmability is the

researcherrsquos comparable concern to objectivity Patton (2002) implies that steps must be

taken to help ensure as far as possible that the workrsquos findings are the result of the

experiences and ideas of the informants rather than the characteristics and preferences of

the researcher The role of triangulation in promoting such confirmability must again be

emphasized in this context to reduce the effect of investigator bias (Patton 2002) One

more detailed methodological description enables the reader to determine how far the

data and constructs emerging from the study may be accepted Critical to this process is

the lsquoaudit trailrdquo which allows any observer to trace the course of the research step-by-

step via the decisions made and procedures described (Patton 2002)

Ethical Considerations

This research project followed the ethical standards mandated by the Institutional

Review Board (IRB) and the Human Subjects Review Board (HSRB) which emphasizes

the importance of the welfare of the participants involved in the study Participants were

named using only pseudonyms and employers mentioned in the study will have names

omitted or changed All personal information such as names phone numbers and

addresses will be kept in the researchersrsquo files Audio recordings of these interviews will

also be stored in the researchersrsquo file cabinets Transcribed data files of all interviews will

be stored on my personal computer in a password-protected file All participants involved

in this research project were advised that transcribed interview information will be kept

for historical purposes Participants were advised that the future publication of this study

will continue to protect the identities of participants by the use of pseudonyms All

participants were required to sign an informed consent form Participants were advised

that they could stop the interview at any time and every measure was taken to avoid

creating any stress on participants for the study Glesne (1999) suggests that the research

code of ethics is generally concerned with aspirations as well as avoidances it represents

our desire and attempts to respect the rights of others fulfill obligations avoid harm and

augment benefits to those we interact with Each participant must understand the ethical

principles of the study including that confidential will be maintained at all times that

their participation is explained in clear terms and all research transcripts relevant to their

participation will be made available for their review

Researchers Role

As a human resource recruiter with over thirty years of experience in the field of

employment-based training I understood the importance of the interactions and

perceptions which develop between managers and the individuals seeking employment I

also understood how important it is to maintain procedural safeguards to lessen any

personal bias and to promote a climate of comfort towards all participants The researcher

needs to have strict safeguards in place to protect the confidentiality of all information

regarding the names and identities of all participants I informed all participants of these

safeguards to maintain a clear separation of my role as a researcher and that of human

resource training and recruitment manager It is important to maintain these safeguards

while at the same time attempt to give voice to the participants and gain a better

understanding of their perceptions and experiences For qualitative researchers topics for

research typically mesh intimately with their deepest professional and social commitments

(Ely 1991)

Summary

employment-based program professionals assisting young African American males

during the transition to the work process at one public workforce development agency

Objectives of the study concerned with understanding the implications of employment-

based policies and the impact of policy design which guides the transition to work process

for young African American males Ten public employment-based program professionals

were selected for the interviews to explore their perceptions about assisting young

African American males during the transition to work process as well as gain a better

understanding of the impact of the workforce program policy design The research

developed from this study may provide insights regarding perceived employment barriers

the impact of policy design and misalignments which can lead to missed employment

opportunities for young African American males Coding was used for the data analysis

process to categorize the data into correlated themes Precautions were taken to safeguard

participants to ensure credibility to ensure trustworthiness and to maintain the reliability

of the study To ensure good quality levels within the research findings were correlated to

other related research to explore any relationship between them

This research considered aspects of personal judgment to guard against any bias

and also the triangulation method was used to ensure high-quality levels within the

research Four main methods will be used which included in-depth interviews semi-

structured interviews data analysis and member checking The deficiencies of using one

research method can be minimized by the strength in the use of other methods (Patton

Chapter 3 described the methodology research design case study approach

trustworthiness and summary In Chapter 4 the researcher presented the data from all

interviews and the themes that emerged from the interviews In the final chapter the

researcher presented recommendations related to the findings from the interviews with

public workforce program professionals The researcher also made recommendations and

suggestions for best practices for public program managers program workforce

professionals and policymakers

Chapter 4 Results

Introduction

The purpose of this study was to examine the experience and perception of 10

public workforce employment training managers regarding the transition to the work

process for young unemployed African American males Public workforce development

agencies provide important employment services and job development resources to

individuals and populations that face significant barriers when entering the job market In

2016 the US federal government appropriated more than $69 billion to states for

WOIA programs and approximately $34 billion in federal formula funding for partner

programs The literature demonstrated that public workforce development agencies

particularly those providing employment services to disadvantaged populations play a

critical role in determining the pathway to employment for many among the long-term

unemployed including young African American males (Heinrich 2016 Cherry 2009)

I contacted several public workforce employment training managers at a

community-based agency in New York City using social media From those contacts I

developed the first list of participants and began the initial invitation and informed

consent process Through referrals from the first group I developed a second group of

participants totaling 10 public workforce employment training managers in all I

conducted interviews developed field notes reviewed documents and material relevant

to the study The focus of the research study was on understanding the perceptions and

experiences of public workforce employment program managers assisting unemployed

young African American males and the impact of social construction and policy design

on the workforce employment experience The incorporation of the social construction of

target populations as part of policy design helped to explain why public policy which can

have both positive and negative effects on society oftentimes fails in its purpose when

relevant to a particular population (Schneider et al 2009) Data resulting from this

qualitative case study was analyzed using Braun and Clarkersquos (2006) six-step thematic

analysis framework to answer the research questions The data analysis process also

incorporated the use of qualitative data analysis computer software (QDA) to aid in

organizing large quantities of textual data This studyrsquos findings described the practices

and policies that were significant to the research and understanding of how the

perception of the participants impacted policies and practices and the transition to work

process for young unemployed African American males involved in public workforce

employment training

Description of the Participants

The participants involved in the study work directly with unemployed African

American males single mothers with children and married couples The participants rsquo

work experiences ranged from 1 to 10 years of public workforce employment training

experience 4 of the 10 public workforce employment training managers held masters

degrees The others were college graduates or had 2 or more years of college All of the

participants were assigned a pseudonym for this study I did not recruit participants or

begin data collection until I obtained the Institutional Review Boardrsquos (IRB) approval to

conduct the study Walden Universityrsquos IRB approved the research study allowed the

project to move forward and assigned the following IRB number 11-07-19-0885077

Please note the brief description of the participants Manager 1 was a veteran

workforce development trainer with over 10 years of experience His main focus was

providing employment training programs for individuals entering retail food services

and secure employment He also oversees the operations in Staten Island and Queens He

was one of the few workforce development trainers who did not think the sanctions on

recipients were strong enough and advocated for program changes that could enhance

employment training programs

Manager 2 veteran workforce development trainer with more than 5 years of

experience whose main focus was on call-center training and retail staffing worked with

both single mothers and young black men in the employment training programs During

the last year he has been a part of the expansion in Queens and the Bronx He was one of

the workforce development trainers who found that the young minority men face much

more significant barriers than single mothers with children He was an advocate for the

expansion of the independent job search function which provides a greater degree of

autonomy for the recipients Manager 3 was a veteran workforce development

employment trainer with over 5 years of experience in the fields of customer service

staffing private security staffing and call center training She has spent much of her time

working with single mothers and young black men seeking to enter the job market The

focus of her workshops was on computer training skills resume writing and interview

preparation She also advocates expanding the independent job search function One of

her main goals was to incorporate seeing the individual as a whole person into the

workshops

Manager 4 worked as a workforce development employment trainer for over 2

years and was a resident of the Bronx for over 30 years He has worked in the Bronx in

the workforce development programs that mainly assist young men of color with

preparing to enter the job market The main focus of his workshops has been on

improving interviewing skills resume writing and communication skills He did express

the view that many of the young men focus on the need for survival and in many cases

they see the employee training programs as a means to an end He stated that for many of

the young men involved in the programs the only concern they have is maintaining

benefits He stated that in some ways the training and the workshops have become the

job Manager 5 was a workforce development employment trainer with over three years

of experience working mainly in Manhattan and the Bronx He has dedicated much of his

time to working with men of color primarily young black men who are preparing to

enter the job market He has helped developed workshops that focus on more effective

communication skills and resume writing He was one of the few workforce development

trainers who stated that the sanctions imposed on recipients may contribute to the barriers

that they face as they attempt to enter the job market He has been an advocate for

improving parts of the programs that help individuals make the transition into the job

market Manager 6 was a workforce development trainer with over two years of

experience working with young men of color in retail food services and call center

staffing He has worked at the WDA location for the entire 3 years as an employee of the

agency He has also stated that the young minority men in particular young black men

face a complex set of challenges to enter the job market Some of the barriers present are

the result of rules associated with background checks and the screening process He has

been an advocate for changes in the program to address the needs and the challenges of

young minority men who prepare to enter the job market

Manager 7 has been employed as a workforce development trainer for 35 years

and mainly focused on staffing in food services retail and customer service He has been

involved mainly with workshops that focus on developing interviewing skills computer

skills and the independent job search function He has also been an advocate for

expanding the independent job search function which would give recipients more

autonomy He has also stated that the program needs to be enhanced to comprehend the

demands in retail and food services such as job hours and changing job shifts Manager 8

stated that many young men lose out on job opportunities due to scheduling conflicts He

worked as a workforce development trainer for 25 years and has focused mainly on

customer service staffing and security guard services

Some of the challenges that faced recipients involved policies that created

barriers in particular for young African American males including work experience and

the request for background checks Manager 8 had spent much of his time working with

individuals on the independent job search function and call center staffing He has

advocated for developing more effective workshops to address or improve

communication skills He also advocated for programs that help young black men prepare

for the initial stages of the employment placement process He indicated more resources

should be applied to develop interviewing workshops to improve interviewing skills He

also indicated more attention needs to be paid to preparing individuals for job

readiness Manager 9 has worked as a workforce development trainer for a year and a

half He has mainly worked at the locations in New York His focus has been working

with individuals to improve computer skills and resume writing He has helped developed

computer labs and writing workshops at the New York location He has also indicated

that young minority men in particular young black men face a different set of challenges

as they prepare to enter the job market He is an advocate for stronger sanctions and for

workshops to help prepare individuals to be job-ready on day one He found that the

sanctions are not strong enough and create a revolving door type situation Manager 10

has worked as a job workforce development trainer for one year and has mainly worked

with single mothers with children and young minority men Her focus has been

workshops that develop skills for retail employment call center staffing and customer

service placements She has also indicated young minority men face much more

significant barriers to employment as opposed to single mothers with children She

indicated that it is possible that young men may have less responsibility unlike single

mothers with children and that they tend to not take the process of preparing for entering

the job market as a serious matter

Data Collection

I collected data during a period of 10 weeks from November 2019 to January

2020 The data collected during that period focused on the communication and

interaction between public workforce development trainers public workforce

development managers and unemployed young African-American males I was able to

record information and write descriptive narratives of each participantrsquos interview data

The data was then organized to answer the research questions Data was described

thematically to provide a better understanding of the interactions between public

workforce development managers and recipients involved in employment in the

employee training process

Braun amp Clarke (2006) provided the six-phase framework for the thematic

analysis of this study The process includes (1) first become familiar with the data by

reading and re-reading the interview transcripts (2) then use of open-coding to develop

and modify codes for sections of data (3) next was a search for themes and patterns that

emerge from the codes (4) then a process of review of themes to determine whether

the data supports the themes (5) is a key process that involved the refinement of the

themes and identify the essence of what the themes were about and (6) involved the

process of writing up the results of the process For example during the data collection

and analysis process several codes emerged that were relevant to finding work required

work experience being job-ready having flexible hours getting the interview using the

internet dealing with transportation maintaining benefits avoiding sanctions avoiding

penalties dealing with background checks managing child support enforcement

maintaining transportation vouchers extending housing vouchers extending metro card

use maintaining work attire and understanding office politics I did cross-comparisons

of the data from one category to the next To ensure that coded information was sorted

and moved under the right theme and category multiple cross-comparisons were

implemented The data was read and re-read to capture more codes and then develop

more themes Braun and Clarke (2006) noted that a good thematic analysis will not only

code and summarize the data it will also help to interpret and make sense of the data

During level one and level two coding data was again read and re-read and open coding

was conducted for a second time The coding labels were assigned using NVivo codes or

words that participants stated in the interview transcripts

By following Braun and Clarkersquos (2006) six-phase thematic analysis process

several themes emerged from the data As a result the five major emergent themes that

were developed included (a) perceived barriers and stereotypes (b) strategies for

securing employment (c) managing change and technological advancement (d)

perceptions of benefits and burdens and (e) politics of the organization Once the

emerging themes were explored data was analyzed using each of the research questions

to provide useful insights relevant to the interactions between public workforce

development managers and the recipients unemployed young African-American

males Table 1 provides examples of how the codes and themes emerged

Table 1

Emergent Themes and Codes

Emergent Themes Codes Sample Statements Participants

Perceived Barriers

and Stereotypes Only low-wage work

available need past

work experience we

need a mature person

We require

background checks

We require more

education We want

workers with soft

skills want to avoid

workers with child

support issues Need

workers who learn

quickly Need workers

with flexibility

workers must have a

positive attitude want

motivated workers

3 Managers indicated

that the job requires 2

years of work

experience They told

the agency to find a

more polished worker

Managers 2 3 7

Strategies for

Securing Employment Must be job-ready

Being available for all

shifts Getting the

interview career

coaching Need

workers who follow

dress code require

workers maintain

work attire We can

use more mentors We

need to add more

employers We can

add more career

development We

need more mock

interview workshop

upgrade the interview

guidelines

that recipients must

have job training

must be well-

groomed always on

Managers 4 6

Perceptions of

Benefits and Burdens We need to expand

the sanctions

Extension of a

housing voucher

getting flexible

program schedule add

unlimited Metro

cards avoid loss of

transit voucher avoid

loss of food stamp

benefits

They indicated some

recipients are

negatively impacted

by sanctions They

indicated that some

recipients loss

housing voucher

that recipients could

avoid sanctions the

process of sanctions

need more rules and

enforcement

Managers 1 9

Managing Change and

New Technology Use the internet

Finding tech jobs

online Jobs are

available remote Use

the computer labs

Data entry jobs are

available online the

remote work often

more flexible more

entry-level jobs are

online more resources

can be found online

workshops can be

completed online

a need for one to one

time and it helps to

have a coach or

mentor

Noted It is time to

learn about the

internet

Manager 8 10

Politics of the

Organization

Following the agency

rules maintain the

benefits Avoid any

sanctions

understanding office

politics make

recipients aware of

resources available

inform recipients of

ways to find

resources

3 they indicated that

workers need to have

a metro card cannot

afford FTC (Failure

To Comply) Workers

need to avoid

sanctions workers

need to keep benefits

Managers 137

After analyzing the data for each of the public workforce development

employment managers interviewed I reviewed the data to examine group similarities and

the relevance to each of the research questions The theoretical framework for the study

guided understanding the relevance of the emerging themes and the importance of how

these social constructions impacted these populations

Ingram et al (2007) explained how socially constructed values applied to the

knowledge of targeted populations and the consequent impact these values have on

people Ingram and Schneider (1993) developed the theory of social construction of

target populations to explain agenda-setting and policy formation and design by

illustrating how policies and target certain populations to either provide benefits or

impose burdens from the policy The theory of social construction of target populations

also provides a model to examine the positive and negative social constructions used by

policymakers to distribute benefits and burdens reflective of such social constructions

(Ingram et al 2007)

The six-step theoretical lens by which the data was analyzed through helped to

identify the links between the implementation of policies either to provide benefits or

impose burdens on recipients and relevance of social constructions on the interactions of

public workforce program managers assisting young unemployed African American

males during the transition to work process Spaulding et al (2015) explained that all too

often low-income young African American males have little opportunity to be exposed

to various career paths build employment histories or even again any valuable work

experience despite the efforts of public workforce employment training agencies

Data Analysis

Braun and Clarke (2006) indicated that data analysis involves the gathering of

information about the study interpretation of categories of information and the synthesis

of the data After the collection of data it was arranged and classified using the six-phase

process I searched for concepts commonalities and patterns (Braun amp Clarke 2006) I

wrote descriptions of data collected and in some cases found similarities Once the data

was coded in smaller units and interpretation of the codes resulted in emerging themes

which lead to the creation of categories to help better understand the data By looking for

patterns or themes relevant to employment job training benefits burdens barriers

stereotypes new technology and organizational politics several overriding themes

emerged The themes that emerged were defined as confronting barriers and stereotypes

Ingram and Schneider (1997) noted that social constructions are about particular groups

of people that have been created by politics culture socialization history the media

literature religion and the like Positive constructions include images such as deserving

and honest and so forth Negative constructions include images such as undeserving

dishonest and selfish The emergent themes provided insight into the relevance of social

construction of targeted populations within the context of the public workforce

experience of program managers assisting young unemployed African American males

during the transition into the job market The data analysis process incorporated the use

of qualitative data analysis (QDA) software NVivo aided in the analysis process by

organizing large quantities of textual data collected from each of the participants rsquo

interview transcripts The process also involved the use of Level One Coding Level Two

Coding and Level Three Coding as detailed below

Level One Coding

In level one of the coding process I imported the interview transcripts into the

NVivo software program for coding The NVivo program provided functions for word

frequency queries broader coding options text search queries and functions to identify

themes This stage of the level one coding included reading through the entire set of the

10 interview transcript responses to develop preliminary coding categories I re-read the

data using open coding for text and sentence analysis Primary first-level codes were

generated based on research questions and coding the interview transcript I assigned

codes directly from the text imported into the NVivo software program NVivo provided

options to import large segments of data run word frequency queries examine what

people are saying and find meaning in the data

Level Two Coding

For level two coding each of the 10 interview transcripts was read again and

open coding was conducted again The second level codes were generated from the data

in the interview transcripts that were associated with responses to the first level primary

codes Coding labels were created and assigned using NVivo to further develop codes

from words or phrases from the text During the level- two coding process data were

coded and grouped according to similarities For example during the first level coding

one response to the question regarding strategies for securing employment participants

stated that ldquoone of the most critical functions for a manager continues to be finding new

employersrdquo( p78) As a result The NVivo code ldquofinding new employersrdquo was assigned

to the passage of text

Level Three Coding

During the level three coding process the data was reviewed to ensure that NVivo

codes were properly assigned Most similar codes were collapsed and merged into

consistent themes After the conclusion of the level three coding process a total of 60

codes emerged from data and were collapsed into themes To ensure that coded

information was properly sorted and moved under the appropriate themes a cross-

comparison of the data analysis was conducted within and across each category of

themes The information was synthesized producing five thematic categories that

supported the research questions and explored the experiences and perceptions of public

workforce program managers assisting unemployed young African American males

during the transition into the labor market In the next section a description of the

findings and emergent themes were explained within the context of the framework of the

social construction of target populations and policy design The data analysis process

provided the framework to develop the findings and themes for the study The emergent

themes were contemplated again and where they were found to be connected were

further condensed culminating in the five themes noted below

Findings Emergent Themes

Public workforce development managers were interviewed during the period of

the study to gain a better understanding of their perception regarding interactions between

themselves and the unemployed young African-American men seeking to enter the job

market I found that public workforce development managers were strongly committed to

assisting these recipients during the transition to the work process however the policies

and practices that guided the process contributed to the lack of autonomy that recipients

gained during the transition into the job market

Braun and Clarkersquos (2006) six-step thematic analysis provided the model used to

identify patterns and themes in the data A good thematic analysis may help summarize

the data however it can also help to interpret and make sense of the data (Braun amp

Clarke 2006) During the interview process managers oftentimes used similar terms to

describe situations and circumstances That information was first organized into codes

which later developed into themes The emergent themes for this stud included

confronting barriers and stereotypes managing change and new technological

advancement securing employment and organizational politics tell the story of the

relationship and interactions between public workforce development managers and the

program recipients including unemployed young African-American males who were

seeking to enter the job market (Appendix C) Based on the interview data themes

emerged as described in the following section

Perceived Barriers and Stereotypes

I found that each participant focused on the importance of following certain

program guidelines for job placement However the overall process was influenced by

policies and practices implemented through New York Cityrsquos Human Resource Agency

(HRA) The participants recognized that the policies and practices implemented through

HRA contributed to some of the barriers facing recipients during the transition to the

work process in particular young African American males Participants however did not

express any desire to change these policies or practices The managers acknowledged the

importance of the responsibility to prepare individuals for the job search function and

placement into the job market Manager 1 remarked ldquowe have found that when we direct

individuals to conduct an online job search that we found the results were impressiverdquo

Many of the participants described how different programs and workshops impacted

recipients in the programs In most cases the public workforce employment training

managers described how the independent job search workshops were most effective

However these workshops contributed to recipients gaining more autonomy over the

process

Manager 2 stated that ldquorecipients make more progress during the independent job

search function than at any other time or any other workshop in the entire programrdquo and

noted that many of the other workforce development trainers agreed with He described

how recipients appeared to be more engaged during the independent job search

workshops however he implied that the process makes my job as a public workforce

employment trainer less relevant HRA policy supported a stricter and more structured

workforce employment training process The public workforce managers acknowledged

the process guiding the transition to the work process also created barriers to employment

for many individuals Braun and Clarkes (2006) six-step thematic analytical process

helped combine codes from the data which in which assisted in the themes emerging

During the interview process it was not uncommon for participants to reveal that

employers perceived recipients as low-wage workers Often it appeared that employers

used terms like we need a person with work experience to avoid selecting one of the

recipients Public workforce development managers acknowledged that more effective

strategies were available for recipients during the transition to the work process

However there was a greater need to control and monitor the activity of recipients under

HRA guidelines Manager 4 stated that ldquothe rules of the organization direct managers to

maintain control of groupsrdquo He implied that recipients were at a disadvantage in terms of

accessing better programs or resources to prepare to enter the job market

The theoretical framework for this study provided insight into some of the

complexities involving public workforce program managers assisting young African

American males during the transition to work process The question concerning the need

for enhanced programs and the use of resources can be understood within the framework

of the theory Ingram et al (2007) noted the theory of social construction and policy

design provides a lens to examine the positive and negative social constructions used by

policymakers to distribute benefits and burdens

Schneider and Ingram (1993) noted policies that have detrimental impacts on or

are ineffective in solving important problems for certain types of target populations may

not produce citizen participation directed towards policy change because messages

received by these target populations encourage withdrawal The theory is important

because it helps explain why some groups are advantaged and others disadvantaged and

how those policy designs can reinforce or alter advantages for target populations

(Schneider amp Ingram 1993) In this study participants acknowledged most recipients in

the programs face barriers to employment that included transportation lack of work

experience and confronting background checks However some of the policies (eg

requirements for recipients to attend multiple workshops per week requirements for

recipients to log 30 hours per week for training classes) and practices (sanctions imposed

by managers for missing workshops) implemented under HRA mandate also contributed

to the barriers to employment for many of the recipients in the programs These policies

and practices also included the sanctions imposed on recipients during the workforce

employment training process and job search process One manager explained that it is

important to keep up with technology and a changing workforce environment and that

includes upgrades to equipment and strategies I discovered public workforce

development managers see changes in technology as a useful tool to prepare individuals

for the transition into the workforce However the organizational structure of the public

workforce agency is structured to maintain control and to allow for stricter monitoring of

individuals activities and behavior Spaulding et al (2015) found that many young

African American males who turn to public workforce employment training are impacted

by a lack of adequate employment-based policies that guide the process

Managing Change and New Technology

During the interview process seven of the ten public workforce development

managers stated it was important for individuals preparing to enter the job market to

become more independent during the job search function These participants

acknowledged the importance of expanding the independent job search function within

the agency However the policies and practices that guided the process did not allow for

that level of flexibility One manager explained that it is vital to keep up with changing

technology and when you see signs of progress it is critical to building on that progress

However within a public workforce agency it is necessary to follow the standard

practices that have been in place for a very long time and many simply do not want to

rock the boat He acknowledged that people are resistant to change even when we see

something that could work better for us we sometimes continue what a process that is

more familiar to us I noted in my research journal that all of the participants

acknowledged that recipients appear to welcome change and made progress when

allowed more autonomy and more independence over the process However when I

questioned the participants about why recipients were not allowed more autonomy during

the transition to the work process the response was the same in each case It was a

question of maintaining control which was guided by the HRA process Manager 5

remarked that ldquoat times the work that we do could be more effective if we change our

strategiesrdquo He explained that individuals involved in the independent job search function

may gain entrance into the job market much quicker then recipients involved in other

programs and workshops However He stated that the job search function tends to make

his job obsolete Recipients work in groups of 20-50 in each workshop and much of the

materials used in the workshops have not been updated over the last decade Many of the

workshops focus on developing interview skills computer skills and preparing for the

early stages of job placement Many of the workshops are designed to prepare individuals

for jobs in retail call centers security personnel and customer service However

participants involved in the job training process acknowledged that many of these jobs

have been replaced by automation and changing technology In some cases individuals

are spending many months and years training for jobs that will likely be obsolete I

discovered public workforce development managers were aware of other types of training

programs that could provide some benefit however the urgency to make policy changes

was not supported across the board

Mckinney et al (2015) found that technology is changing how we live and work

( working remote has created additional options to enter the job market) yet research

shows that public workforce employment programs are not aligned to provide young

African American males with reasonable access to these types of job opportunities Braun

and Clarke (2007) provided the thematic analysis process that showed the patterns that

developed around the topic of managing changing technology Managers implied that

employment opportunities could be available for these recipients However the thematic

analysis revealed resistance within the WDA organization to seeking employment

opportunities for young African American males regarding the use of the internet or

based on advancement in technology Schneider and Ingram (1993) noted that policy may

not favor groups who have been negatively constructed or who have little or no power

During the interview process one manager received a call from one of the

recipients who were very upset about the sanctions that were imposed suspending

benefits and transportation He acknowledged some changes were needed in terms of

how sanctions were used to discipline recipients in the program This particular recipient

was very upset about losing benefits because of not attending a workshop the individual

complained about losing a Metro card voucher and possibly a childcare voucher The

individual explained the benefits were needed to maintain compliance with the program

The sanctions were being imposed because the individual failed to report to a workshop

The individual described a catch 22 situation

On the one hand the recipient stated that it is a requirement to attend each

workshop five days a week however the metro card required for transportation can be

suspended if the individual fails to attend any workshop and can take up to 30 days to be

reinstated The manager acknowledged that some were changes needed concerning some

of the policies and practices that guided the workforce development process and he

stated that many of the recipients are caught in a revolving door This explains why

recipients involved in a six-month training program will still be involved in the job

training placement process four years later

One manager acknowledged that for many of the recipients involved in the

workforce development program the process has become the job It is a means to an end

Seven of the ten public workforce development managers expressed concern about the

need for making changes within the organization and how the lack of change will impact

the progress for individuals seeking to enter the job market in particular unemployed

young African-American males

Strategies for Securing Employment

The participants and recipients including unemployed young African-American

males were focused on any strategy that would lead to a new opportunity in the job

market This was oftentimes directed toward opportunities related to the internet or new

technology The strategies utilized during that process were different for recipients

however the objective was the same The goal was to find a job For the public

workforce development managers that process involved seeking out new employers who

would consider the candidates-recipients for full-time employment For the recipients

who were unemployed young African-American males the objective was both to

maintain current status in the workforce development program and to secure a new

employment opportunity The process was somewhat more complex for the young

African-American males who were seeking employment because it was necessary to

maintain status in the workforce development program to receive benefits I found that all

of the public workforce development managers stated the recipients in the programs were

faced with a dual challenge because the benefits were impacted by the status in the

workforce development training program Manager 4 stated ldquoSome recipients are in

programs to maintain their benefits they need that check and must show up to a

workshoprdquo It becomes very important to analyze data to find details and patterns that

inform why individuals consider these alternatives

Braun and Clarkes (2006) thematic analysis process provided the framework to

explore these patterns in the data which lead to the theme of securing employment

Participants oftentimes revealed that recipients mainly focused on getting the job

interview or use of career coaching to prepare for the transition into the job market

Manager 4 explained the challenges of securing a full-time position for the recipients

who are focused on maintaining their current status in the workforce development

programs including the workshops and in some ways It is the program that often

becomes a job for these individuals I found that for the recipients in the program they

needed to select the right employment opportunity before making changes to their

benefits package The public workforce employment training managers acknowledged

that for the recipients the young unemployed African-American males that they were

assisting during this process were at times reluctant to consider accepting employment

unless they knew that the impact to the benefits would not be severe This reluctance to

accept any new employment opportunity was one of the challenges for the public

workforce development manager to resolve before placing the recipient into a new job

So for the public workforce development manager the process creates two significant

challenges they must find new employers to accept recipients for full-time work and

they must rule willing to sacrifice the benefits to accept a full-time position The

recipients will need to feel some sense of confidence that the new position is meaningful

and worth sacrificing their benefits In some cases it appeared that the public workforce

development managers agree with the recipients that some available positions were

unstable However the public workforce development manager was also under pressure

to place as many individuals in new jobs as possible Public workforce development

managers work under a quota system and the progress of each public workforce manager

was monitored by HRA

Another important factor that impacted the process of securing employment for

recipients was the interviewing workshops and independent job search workshops On the

one hand interviewing workshops were encouraged by the public workforce

development managers Yet the independent job search function was not because public

workforce development managers had less control over the recipients during that process

Manager 7 agreed the process was very complex He explained we have a responsibility

to monitor the activities and behavior of the individuals involved in the workforce

employment training process and at the same time we see indications that many make

more progress during the independent job search process It appeared one of the changes

the public workforce development managers were focused on was how to expand the

independent job search function Spaulding et al (2015) observed that broader solutions

are needed to address disparities in public workforce employment training for young

unemployed men of color These solutions should involve multiple institutions in

government education and non-profit organizations

Perceptions of Benefits and Burden

During the interview process 5 of 10 public workforce employment managers

found that most recipients are not aware of the resource available from the WDA

program These participants acknowledged that most recipients find that involvement in

the programs provides the means of obtaining benefits All recipients involved in the

public workforce employment programs including unemployed young African

American males are referrals from HRA For recipients to receive benefits including

housing vouchers daycare vouchers food stamps vouchers transportation metro cards

and health care coverage the individual must attend an in-person workshop at the WDA

public workforce employment training center Manager 8 noted ldquoWe find that many

recipients struggle to maintain the workforce program schedule because it is like having a

full-time jobrdquo He explained that each recipient must report to the public workforce center

from 9 am-4 pm from Monday to Friday Most recipients have children and require

daycare including unemployed young African American males However in the case of

young African American males the public workforce program manager must help the

individual handle the stress of the Child Enforcement Service (CES) which also requires

each recipient to attend the public workforce employment program

I also found that most of the public workforce program managers shared the

perspective that certain aspects of the program could be viewed as a burden or benefit to

recipients For recipients who were allowed to use the independent job search feature the

sense was that for some recipients particularly young African American males these

features provided some benefit to the recipients Manager 6 noted that most recipients

tend to view the sanctions and penalties as challenges within the public workforce

program He stated that ldquorecipients want to see more flexibility in the workforce program

format and fewer actions in terms of enforcement of sanctionsrdquo For many recipients

particularly young unemployed African American males the challenge concerned how

to balance the need for benefits with the demands of the programs and the burden of

public workforce program sanctions Schneider et al (2009) noted that understanding the

positive and negative social construction of target groups helps to explain why it is that

while every citizen is presumably equal before the law policy designs tend to distribute

benefits to some people while creating burdens for others The emotional and value-laden

image of some target groups and not others as deserving and entitled is different from

the usual notion of political power related to economic resources (Schneider amp Ingram

1997) Policy design includes other elements in addition to the benefits and burden goals

to be achieved or problems to be solved and the tools intended to change behavior or

rules for inclusion and exclusion (Schneider amp Ingram 1997) Policy designs also shape

institutions and the broader culture through both the resource effects of policy and the

rhetorical symbolic effects of public policy (Schneider amp Ingram 1997) The social

construction of target groups also refers to the positive and negative social constructions

of the groups as worthy and deserving of as less worthy and undeserving and being a

burden on the general welfare of society (Schneider amp Ingram 1997) For some groups

impacted by negative social constructions these groups find that labels attempt to convey

the image of individuals who are lazy disrespectful greedy disloyal dangerous and

even immoral There is almost no debate that racial and ethnic minorities have less

positive social construction and that racial discrimination is still deeply embedded in

public policy (Schneider amp Ingram 1997) Policy designs affect participation through

rules of participation messages conveyed to individuals resources such as money and

time and actual experiences with a policy as it is delivered through caseworkers or

public agencies (Schneider et al 2014)

Politics of the Organization

I found each participant responded to the policies and practices implemented by

HRA with some degree of reservations I was informed by each of the public workforce

development managers that the agency did not determine the actual guidelines for

employment training The guidelines for the agency to operate all of its workshops that

prepared recipients for work including unemployed young African-American males

were mandated by HRA During my interview with one manager he described how some

of the workshops were repetitive and public workforce managers were at times limited in

terms of how they can change the programs For example during a discussion about

removing barriers to employment for recipients in the independent job search workshops

the question that emerged focused on giving individuals more authority and responsibility

to complete the job search function He described how the HRA program was designed

for monitoring and tracking the activities of each individual He indicated that some

options could remove barriers to the employment process such as allowing individuals to

complete a training workshop from a remote location However the guidelines

implemented by HRA did not provide this option

Braun and Clarke (2006) noted that the researcher may combine codes into a

single theme Themes are generally broader than the codes Participants described how

recipients would make extra effort to avoid sanctions at times They would learn ldquohow to

play the gamerdquo At other times participants stated that recipients were less concerned

about sanctions However a pattern emerged that informed concepts of managing the

politics of the organizations One manager stated that if individuals were able to complete

workshops from a remote location such as a local library or Internet cafeacute in their

neighborhoods that would remove the burden of transportation costs additional clothing

and travel time Other barriers could be removed by allowing individuals to utilize

technology in different ways such as the use of a remote location or a laptop computer at

a neighborhood library Another manager described how each of the employment training

workshops was designed to influence the behavior of the individuals

One manager described how these control mechanisms allowed the workforce

development manager to track the progress of each individual However she did agree

that the option to use a remote location for training programs or to use a local library or

Internet cafeacute would be a great benefit to the participants in the program However the

decision to change the policies and practices of the WDA did not follow the politics of

the organization These options would not or could not be considered by HRA for reasons

that may be related to social constructions

Schneider and Ingram (1993) observed that social constructions for powerless

groups are viewed as individuals who need direction For their own good is a common

reason given for imposing sanctions on recipients similar to the groups involved in public

workforce employment programs I discovered eight out of the ten public workforce

development managers described strategies that could remove barriers for individuals

who were transitioning into the job market However those strategies would not be

supported by HRA because they would reduce the amount of control that managers have

over the recipient One of the key strategies that could remove barriers for individuals in

the process of completing the workforce development programs would be to implement

options that allowed the use of local libraries or Internet cafeacutes to complete employment

training workshops Some recipients had access to laptop computers and some of the

training modules could have been completed by the use of a cell phone However HRA

policy did not support implementing these types of strategies because it removed the

control and monitoring mechanisms that are utilized by public workforce development

managers The information listed below describes findings for the research questions

based on responses during the interviews of participants assisting unemployed young

Results of Research Interview Questions

Findings for Research Question 1

What are public employment program professionals rsquoperceptions about the

alignment of workforce policies and practices that shape social constructions

relevant to unemployed young African-American males involved in the transition

to work

Public workforce program professionals reportedly used different strategies to

assist young African-American males during the process of transition into the workforce

The main emphasis was on coaching and the interview workshops utilized by the

Workforce Development Agency (WDA) Public workforce employment program

professionals were guided by the policies and practices mandated by the WDA These

public workforce professionals did not appear to question HRA policies 8 of the 10

public workforce professionals interviewed for the study did make suggestions about

strategies to improve the alignment of some of the policies programs and practices (eg

remove some sanctions promote independent job search etc) that impacted the

transition to work process for young African-American males seeking to enter the job

market However for the most part public employment program managers tend to work

within the guidelines of HRA policy I noted that public employment program managers

preferred some workshops over other workshops that were designed to assist recipients

with the transition to the work process Public workforce employment professionals

expressed the view that more resources could be allocated to independent job search

programs and workshops They also expressed the view that mentorship was valuable to

both public workforce development managers and successful recipients

One manager often took on the role of a mentor from the very first interactions

with unemployed young African-American males However most public workforce

employment managers did not take on the role of mentor and did not engage in any

activities to encourage successful recipients to also act as mentors Another manager

indicated his focus was on the early stages of the transition to work process for young

African-American males and that included all steps that support the first interview and

landing the job He emphasized the importance of recipients attending the first interview

to be prepared to arrive on time to be punctual to maintain eye contact to speak clearly

to communicate well to avoid complicated issues during the interview and to show

confidence in your abilities and skills Oddly he did not see himself as a mentor only as

an instructor and as a guide He expressed concerns about circumstances that created

tension for young African-American males during the early stages of the transition to the

work process He indicated concerns about preparing individuals like young African-

American men to address questions about work experience and not volunteer information

that is not relevant to the early stages of the transition to the work process All of the

public workforce development managers expressed views about how resources could be

better allocated Most wanted to see upgrades to the computer centers and improved

options for removing barriers related to transportation and childcare These managers

perceived these factors as being significant in terms of impacting the transition to the

work process They also expressed the view that other factors relevant to policies and

practices were less useful to the transition to the work process such as the sanctions

imposed on recipients involved in the employment training workshops One manager

often acted as both public workforce employment manager and confidante to recipients

who struggle with the transition to the work process Many recipients would turn to him

upon the implementation of sanctions that removed benefits and transportation resources

He expressed the view that some changes could be made to improve that process and that

more attention was needed to improve the transition to the work process He expressed

the view that some public workforce training programs and practices contributed to the

stereotypes and barriers that recipients face

Schneider and Ingram (1993) noted that policies send messages about what

government is supposed to do and which citizens are deserving and which are not

Different target populations receive quite different messages One manager expressed the

view that more resources should be allocated to prepare individuals for the first months of

the transition to the work process in particular young African-American males He

expressed the view that for young African-American males being prepared for the first

few weeks of the transition to work process was critical In his view nearly 70 of the

recipients that he assisted during the transition to the work process were often frustrated

or terminated from the job during the first 90 days He expressed the view that more

resources for preparing recipients to enter the job market where needed He was also one

of the public employment workforce managers who acted as a mentor He also agreed

that there was value in any program or practice that encouraged successful recipients to

engage as mentors He expressed the view that these types of programs could be further

developed and could be incentivized so that successful recipients would be interested in

acting as mentors In his view encouraging individuals to be mentors could have a

significant impact on recipients involved in the transition to work process He was one of

six public workforce employment managers who encouraged recipients in particular

young African-American males to use a weekly schedule or organizer to prepare for the

first few weeks as they transition into the job market He explained how the organizer

worked for recipients (Appendix B) The organizer was extremely useful for recipients

completing the independent job search function or during the first three weeks of

transition into the job market The organizer highlighted key points that each recipient

should follow including punctuation updated resume travel instructions and contact

information at the job site The organizer also included instructions about basic details

such as dress code grooming company guidelines and interview strategies

Three managers were part of the first group of public workforce employment

managers to encourage recipients to engage in mock interviews All the public workforce

employment managers stressed the value of mock interviews during workforce

development training However most of the public workforce employment managers

described the challenges of arranging for actual employers to engage in mock interviews

Public workforce employment managers agree that mock interviews could benefit

recipients in particular unemployed young African-American males The mock

interviews conducted by the workforce development agency were not as effective as

interviews conducted at the actual employers worksite Public workforce development

managers reported difficulty in arranging for employers to agree to mock interviews and

in some cases the managers would reach out to other companies to volunteer time for

recipients to engage in mock interviews

Public workforce development managers believed that mock interviews played a

key role in preparing recipients for the transition into the job market as well as the early

stages of the interview process 6 of the 10 workforce development managers interviewed

for the study stressed the need to allocate more resources to developing mock interview

workshops The challenge for public workforce development managers to redirect

resources to mock interview workshops was a policy issue Policy and practices

implemented by HRA did not allocate sufficient resources to certain workshops including

those programs supporting mock interviews Public workforce development managers

involved in this study revealed that recipients involved in mock interviews demonstrated

a high level of confidence during the actual interview process and the early stages of the

transition to the work process Six of the ten managers were among the strongest

advocates for combining mentorship workshops and mock interview workshops in the

workforce development agency All the public workforce development managers agreed

with programs targeting mentorship and independent job search functions received

greater enthusiasm from the recipients involved in the programs I discovered during the

interviewing process with the public workforce employment managers recipients

responded positively to all of the workshops that encouraged greater levels of autonomy

The independent job search function and the mock interview workshops allowed

recipients more control over the process In many cases public workforce employment

managers reported a greater success rate for recipients entering the job market who

focused time and energy in those workshops and programs I noticed during the

interviewing process public workforce employment managers expressed concerns about

the lack of resources directed at new technology Six of the ten public workforce

employment managers stated that upgrades were needed in the computer labs and

equipment Also each public workforce employment manager would point out that new

technology could allow recipients to gain access to more resources that could lead to

permanent employment Many of the public workforce employment managers revealed

that efforts were made internally to make changes in how programs were aligned and

how resources were allocated However for significant changes to be implemented the

process would have to begin from the HRA leadership Five managers were among the

group of public workforce employment managers who stressed the importance of giving

the recipients of voice and more independence during the job search process Each

expressed the view that the limitations imposed on the programs and the practices that

helped recipients during the transition to the work process could be changed by

policymakers

Four of the ten managers were among the first group of public employment

managers who advocated for more motivational workshops They stressed the need for

more resources to support programs and workshops that could motivate recipients

especially unemployed young African-American males Each of these managers

reported to me that it was common practice to give books to recipients that they purchase

themselves These books were intended to be used as a guide to self-improvement and

motivation All of the public workforce employment managers indicated more should be

done to allocate resources to workshops that focused on motivation and self-

improvement

What are the public workforce program managers perceptions about the relevance

of workforce employment policy design and social constructions impacting

unemployed young African American males during the workforce training

experience

All the public workforce employment program managers interviewed during this study

stressed the importance of making changes to address barriers to employment and

policies that impact the transition to work process for recipients in particular

unemployed young African-American males Eight of the ten public workforce

employment managers indicated that resources were needed to be allocated to additional

workshops and that some realignment of policies and practices would be more effective

in assisting recipients during the transition to the work process For example public

workforce employment managers found that individuals involved in independent job

search workshops and functions were more proactive during the transition to the work

process These managers indicated that more resources should be allocated to programs

that encouraged more independence and provided great autonomy for recipients involved

in the transition to the work process

The view of the managers interviewed during this study was that the HRA

policies and guidelines that influence the process needed to adjust to the changing

workforce environment and technological climate These managers perceived that the

changing workforce environment had impacted how individuals confront barriers to the

job market and gain access to new employment opportunities Six of the ten public

workforce managers interviewed for the study indicated that many of the HRA policies

and programs encourage recipients to develop better skills and gain access to the job

market as quickly as possible However some of the policies and practices that impact

the process of transition into the workforce were somewhat outdated McKinney et al

(2015) found that employment opportunities are emerging in different markets as a result

of new technology and these jobs could provide opportunities for young unemployed

Schneider and Ingram (1993) offered the view that social constructions and policy

design theory attempt to answer the question Who gets what when and how In this

study public workforce employment managers stated that valuable time and resources

were dedicated to functions that it does not link directly to the transition to the work

process For example many public workforce employment managers devoted significant

time and resources to issues related to sanctions and penalties for recipients who were not

making progress in the employment training programs I found that participants

implemented several different strategies to assist recipients during the transition to the

work process particularly unemployed young African-American males Manager 10

indicated more resources should be applied to the independent job search function for

recipients who are preparing to enter the job market He added by expanding the

resources for the independent job search function then the role of the public workforce

employment manager will also change He indicated that public workforce employment

managers were already expanding their roles as coaches mentors and advocates for the

recipients involved in the transition to work process

All of the public workforce employment managers agreed that changes in their

roles as instructors should be expected because of a changing job market and

technological environment One manager described how the WDA was expanding

locations in Queens and Brooklyn These new workforce development locations were

designed to expand on certain areas of employment such as call-center staffing retail

services and food services The new locations will also expand on computer training and

workshops to develop better communication skills Public workforce employment

managers stress the importance of developing new workshops to take advantage of

employment opportunities for recipients especially young African-American males

Many of the public workforce employment managers expressed the view that

outdated policies and practices that led to training for low-wage jobs could be realigned

to address new employment opportunities These public employment program managers

indicated the realignment of resources to workshops such as independent job search and

workshops expanded on the mock interviewing of recipients could be more effective

during the transition to the work process Eight out of ten public employment managers

agreed that independent job search workshops and the mock interviewing workshops

helped individuals confront barriers and stereotypes that were still present in the job

market Many of the barriers and stereotypes recipients were confronted with resulted

from years of ideologies about the long-term unemployed and young African-American

males These stereotypes implied a lack of initiative lack of responsibility and a lack of

commitment to confronting new opportunities Schneider and Ingram (1993) noted that

stereotypes and language are utilized to create negative images of target populations in

the policy design process Public workforce employment managers explained that

individuals involved in independent job search functions were given more autonomy over

the process and therefore develop the greatest sense of control and responsibility This

was in contrast to the social constructions impacting these groups He explained for

public employment program managers to be more effective it was necessary to find

different strategies and to realign resources to different workshops and programs He

expressed the view that some internal changes would be helpful to redirect resources for

individuals to confront barriers to employment which include transportation location of

employment and childcare All of the public workforce employment managers agreed

more resources should be allocated to those programs that address barriers and

stereotypes that impacted recipients particularly young African-American men

Some public workforce employment managers expressed the view that many

recipients involved in employment training programs and the transition to work process

were not only confronted by barriers that included transportation housing and childcare

many of the recipients in the programs especially unemployed young African-

American males were confronted by stereotypes that persist in the current job markets

These stereotypes included the presumption that young African-American males were

more likely to be irresponsible less cooperative and at times rebellious during their work

experience Many employers would avoid extending a job offer to a young African-

American male Therefore it was the job of the public workforce development manager

to assist these recipients with the task of not only confronting barriers to employment but

also be prepared to address stereotypes Many of the public workforce employment

managers utilized the interviewing workshops and the coaching workshops to help

individuals prepare for these challenges Public workforce employment managers

expressed the view that policies and practices that were designed to guide the transition to

work process tend to not take into consideration the significance of some of the

challenges and stereotypes that individuals were confronted by These public workforce

employment managers indicated that workshops and coaching workshops could be

utilized to help individuals build greater self-esteem and confidence as they continue the

transition to the work process

Three managers expressed the view that individuals involved in the independent

job search workshops were better suited to address some of the challenges in the job

market They also argued that more could be done to assist individuals during the

transition to the work process For example more use of technology could be effective

and creating a pathway to employment Some of the workshops could be redesigned for

recipients to complete from a remote location such as a public library or an Internet cafeacute

This change in program structure would also remove barriers such as the need for

transportation cost clothing and childcare Such a change would allow individuals to

complete part of the training process from a remote location or a virtual worksite would

allow recipients more time to prepare for a transition into the job market This type of

change would also allow individuals greater autonomy and independence during the

transition to the work process Four of the ten workforce development managers did not

advocate for the approach that would provide more independence to recipients because of

the concern about maintaining control over the process These public workforce program

managers expressed concern about giving individuals too much freedom Three managers

implied that experience has shown in the workforce training environment that some

individuals will take the freedom but not the responsibility They expressed the view the

control mechanisms implemented by HRA were in place for a reason They did not

advocate for greater independence autonomy for recipients in the workforce training

programs including unemployed young African-American males These public

workforce employment managers expressed the view some policy changes could be made

to improve the process for individuals who face barriers to employment For example

more resources could be allocated for transportation courses clothing and childcare

Also these public workforce employment managers stated some recipients were much

more successful working with organizations in their neighborhoods Therefore it would

be useful to allocate resources and direct program efforts to develop relationships with

employers in nearby neighborhoods for these recipients

These public workforce employment managers expressed the view that the

policies and programs that required enhancement concerns sanctions and penalties

imposed on recipients who were found to be non-compliant The sanctions imposed on

individuals deemed to be non-compliant would suspend certain benefits that included

food stamps childcare and transportation voucher Once these benefits were suspended

each recipient was required to reapply for benefits through HRA The process of

reapplying for benefits could take between 30 to 90 days During the time that the

individual was reapplying for benefits they would lose job opportunities that may have

been pending Many public workforce employment managers expressed the view that

some policy was required to address issues related to sanctions and penalties All of the

public workforce employment managers indicated that changes to policy and practices

within the workforce employment training programs could improve the transition to work

process for recipients in particular young African-American males One of the barriers

facing young African-American males which also contributed to the stereotypes that

these individuals face involved some of the challenges of enforcement policies

implemented through HRA In cases of child support enforcement activities HRA works

directly with the child support enforcement agencies (CEA) to address the issue of unpaid

child support my fathers children in the custody of a single mother For the public

workforce employment manager these policies and practices also create a set of barriers

and challenges for recipients in particular young African-American males The public

workforce employment manager was now tasked with assisting an individual seeking to

enter the job market and at the same time interacting with child enforcement services to

address unpaid child support The recipients in the program mainly young African-

American males were under a mandate to participate in the workforce employment

training

For the young African-American male involved in the workforce employment

training the need to find a job was paramount Public workforce employment managers

indicated that many young African-American males would even accept undesirable

employment Most were faced with employment that was low waged and included an

unstable work schedule The public workforce employment manager was now tasked

with assisting individuals seeking to enter the job market while complying with child

enforcement agencies guidelines to resolve child support issues Public workforce

employment training managers expressed the view some policy change was needed and

the changes could not only improve conditions for the recipients including young

African-American males it would also help resolve the child support issues involved

Public workforce employment managers reveal that the workforce development agency

and HRA were seeking ways to work together to resolve these conflicts I discovered that

eight of the ten public workforce employment managers viewed the alignment between

workforce development agency (WDA) and HRA as being out of sequence These public

workforce development managers appeared to advocate for some policy change between

the agencies I found participants in the study were well aware of the need for change

However they also felt a sense of case overload and did not feel confident that workforce

development agency leaders would implement change for the sake of the recipients

involved in a program These public workforce development managers expressed the

view that a realignment of resources and some realignment of their roles as public

workforce employment instructors could improve the transition to work process for

recipients including young unemployed African-American males I also reviewed

government documents agency website material and internal office memos regarding

workforce development policies and practices

I was able to use these documents as part of triangulation which included

interview data journal notes articles and agency documentation During the interviews

eight of the ten public workforce employment managers discussed the importance of

maintaining positive communication with recipients taking the time to understand the

needs and challenges of those recipients and finding more employers who were open to

considering these individuals as possible candidates for employment All of the public

workforce employment managers expressed optimism about the prospects for individuals

who were working to enter the job market However most expressed urgency for the

need to reallocate resources to other programs and workshops These public workforce

employment managers did not express concern about their role change which was

possible if resources were reallocated to other programs These public workforce

employment managers expressed confidence in their role to assist individuals during the

transition to work process and felt confident that by making better use of new technology

great opportunity would be available for these recipients especially young African-

American males

Discrepant Cases and Non-Conforming Data

The themes in the research described various views of the experiences and

interactions of public workforce development employment managers rsquoassisting

unemployed young Africa American males during the transition to work process

Discrepant and nonconforming data from this study expressed the view that public

workforce development employment professionals follow traditional workforce agency

policy However the participants in this study appear to adjust practices for some

employment training workshops to further assist recipients who face significant barriers to

employment Although traditional public workforce development policy was important to

guide the transition to the work process participants seemed willing to encourage

recipients such as unemployed young African American males to rely on programs and

practices that support independent thinking and action The time recipients devote to

specific employment training workshops also provided non-conforming data for the study

Each of the public workforce employment training managers stated that recipients spend 2

to 4 hours per week on the independent job search function of the workshops However

there were many cases were recipients spend 4 to 6 hours each week on this function of

the workshops I discovered that some participants encouraged recipients to devote more

time to the independent job search function because recipients tend to be better prepared

for the transition into the workforce

Evidence of Quality

Creswell suggests eight strategies that can be used to ensure that a study is valid

(Creswell 2007) I used three of the eight strategies during the research included

triangulation thick descriptions and member checking (Creswell 2007) Merriam (2002)

found validity is established by using internal and external means of data collection

Summary of Findings

This qualitative case study was designed to fill a gap in the research literature that

focused on the experiences and interactions of public workforce development managers

assisting unemployed young African-American males during the transition into the job

market Data were collected through the use of individual interviews researchers field

notes researchers journals and government documents The ten participants in this study

shared their perceptions about the experiences and interactions as they prepared recipients

to enter the workforce They shared their views about policies and practices that guided

the transition to the work process for these recipients The data showed public workforce

development managers are committed professionals and they enthusiastically guided

recipients through workshops to develop better communication skills job search

strategies motivation and employment opportunities Guided by Ingram et al (2009)

theory of social construction and policy design the study illustrated how public policies

impact targeted populations Braun and Clarkersquos (2006) six-step thematic analysis process

provided key insights into the relevant themes that help explain the data

Public workforce development managers expressed the view that reallocation of

resources where required and new programs developed needed to address the changing job

market and changing workforce population The participants in the study continually look

for ways to assist young African-American males during the process of preparing for

interviews employment assessment and transition into the job market Each participant

believed that each recipient could develop the skills to meet a changing job market They

also expressed the view that with some modification of policies and programs within the

workforce agency that most recipients could secure meaningful long-term employment

The participants in the study did not hesitate to extend themselves to recipients in the

program and expressed the view that an expanded mentorship program and independent

job search function could have a positive impact on recipients in particular young

African-American males

Chapter 5 is a review of the study It highlights the experiences of public workforce

employment program managers assisting unemployed young African American males

during the transition to work process It provides an interpretation of findings limitations

of the study and recommendations It also discusses social change implications and ends

with a conclusion

Chapter 5 Discussion Recommendations Implications and Conclusion

Introduction

The problem at the selected research site was that unemployed young African-

American males were deeply involved in public workforce employment training

programs and were not gaining access to meaningful jobs Public workforce employment

managers and trainers at the agency worked diligently with recipients to prepare for the

transition into the workforce and used all available resources during that process The

participants at the research site justified the lack of additional resources like an internal

policy issue or organizational politics One aim of this study was to gain a better

understanding of how public workforce employment program managers perceived their

interactions with individuals that they were assisting with the process of transition into

the workforce Through the use of interviews field notes and agency documents this

study explored how public workforce employment managers used policies and practices

within the agency to assist recipients of the transition into the workforce

The participants in the study expressed the view that recipients were eager and

capable of transitioning into the labor force and that some of the available programs

were useful for that purpose However participants expressed the view that some changes

to policies and programs could further improve the process of transition into the

workforce for recipients in particular young unemployed African-American males To

better prepare individuals to be successful during the transition to the work process

participants continued to encourage independent job search activities and strategies to

build confidence The standards for policies and practices at the workforce development

agency were mandated by the Human Resource Administration (HRA) Participants in

the study interacted with recipients during the entire transition to the workforce process

however the policies and practices that guide the process are directed by the HRA

organization I sought to fill a gap in the literature regarding the state of knowledge of the

experiences and interactions between public workforce employment managers and

recipients in particular unemployed young African-American males involved in the

transition into the workforce One aim of the study was to gain a better understanding of

how participants and recipients utilized programs and resources made available through

HRA policies to complete the transition into the workforce Participants answered

questions and provided insight into what methods policies and practices were resulting in

better job opportunities for recipients involved in the programs

Guided by Ingram et al (2009) social construction of target population and

policy design theory I examined the perception of public workforce employment

managers about assisting unemployed young African American males Social

construction and policy design theory indicated that the social construction of target

populations has a powerful influence on the policy agenda and the actual design of the

policy Social constructions become embedded in policy as messages that are absorbed

by individuals and affect their participation in the benefits and burdens that are involved

in the process (Schneider amp Ingram 1993) Braun and Clarkes (2206) six-step thematic

analysis provided the model to examine and interpret the data Thematic analysis is a

good approach to research that examines peoples views perceptions knowledge values

and experiences from a set of qualitative data The emergent themes provided important

insight into the study as well as the relevance of the theoretical framework used for the

research The public workforce employment program policies and practices that guide the

process for young unemployed African American males tend to focus on low wage

work jobs that have become obsolete or overlook employment opportunities resulting

from advancement in new technology (Spaulding et al 2015 Heinrich 2016) This

study looked at the most effective techniques and methods utilized by public workforce

employment managers assisting young African American males The study also looked

at how the perception of public workforce employment managers impacted the transition

into the workforce for these individuals Findings revealed that public workforce

employment managers were more successful in working with recipients in programs that

encouraged independent job search activities and provided greater autonomy to

individuals

Interpretation of the Findings

Once all of the data were collected I analyzed the data to develop codes and

themes which served as the basis for writing descriptions of the public workforce

employment managers perceptions about assisting recipients for the transition into the

workforce This studys findings support the findings of other research related to the

importance of enhancing job skills communication skills and employment opportunities

(Heinrich 2016 McConnell et al 2016) I found that public workforce employment

managers implemented informal job search strategies to encourage independent thinking

and provide recipients with a greater sense of autonomy during the transition into the job

market Over the past several years research has shown that young men of color continue

to learn how to adjust to a changing labor market and that new strategy is required by

employers to realign with these changes (Heinrich 2016 Spaulding et al 2015) I found

that implementation of programs and workshops such as the independent job search

workshop which encourages the use of new technologies to be essential to the process of

assisting recipients in particular unemployed young African-American males during

the transition into the workforce Today public workforce employment managers need to

focus on policies and programs designed to assist recipients in activities that support

independent job search functions and strategies However many public workforce

program managers face challenges from the internal organizational politics that guide the

process Schneider and Ingram (1993) suggested that social constructions of the target

population can have a powerful influence on the design of the policy The theory is

important because it helps to explain who gets what when and how During the

interviewing process I found that the public employment workshops encouraged

recipients to be more proactive to be more creative and to accept more responsibility

during the initial transition into the job market However the actual policies and practices

that guide the process did not encourage these options Public workforce employment

trainers also indicated that independent job search activities and mock interview

workshops had shown signs of being affected They expressed the view that these types

of activities should be expanded and more resources should be allocated to make these

programs available to more individuals and recipients Data confirmed that change was

required to address the lack of effective public workforce employment program policies

and practices that guided the process for managers and recipients particularly young

unemployed African American males The theoretical framework and thematic analysis

process helped to illustrate how the perceptions of public workforce employment

managers inform and influence the transition to work process for these individuals

Changes to WDA policies and programs can improve the employment

experiences for this population The literature indicated that certain target populations can

be both negatively perceived and impacted by the policy When the public workforce

employment program has been improved the outcomes for young African American

males and others involved with a public agency are more productive The interpretations

of the emergent themes are described in the next section

Emergent Themes

During face-to-face interviews I used open-ended questions to elicit responses

about the participants perceptions regarding the interactions with recipients preparing to

enter the job market All of the participants focused on one or more of the public

employment training workshops to prepare recipients in particular unemployed young

African-American males to enter the job market Braun and Clarkersquos (2006) six-step

thematic analysis process provided useful guidance for developing and understanding the

emergent themes resulting from the data During the data collection process most of the

participants focused on addressing barriers to employment facing recipients strategies to

secure employment for recipients strategies to make better use of new technology and

navigating the politics of the organization Spaulding et al (2015) found that broader

solutions are needed to address disparities in public workforce employment and training

programs in particular as it concerns young men of color Cherryrsquos (2016) study implied

that negative stereotypes about young unemployed African American males assumed

their long periods of joblessness related more to motivation than public workforce

employment initiatives Schneider et al (2014) observed that understanding how groups

are positively and negatively socially constructed is useful to understand the choice of

policy design and the dynamic of how benefits and burdens are allocated to groups

Policy designs also shape institutions and the broader culture through both the resources

and effects of policy and the symbolic effects on groups This theoretical framework

helped to provide insight into the research data and some understanding of the emergent

themes that were developed from the research data

Cherry (2016) also argued that simply expanding public employment and job

training opportunities would likely have only a modest effect on joblessness for young

African American males Cherry found that many young African American males will

join the ranks of the ldquohidden unemployedrdquo as a result of ineffective workforce

employment programs and growing stereotypes Cherry contends that young African

American males face prolonged joblessness as a result of the unequal distribution of

resources in public workforce programs and discriminatory practices in the labor markets

I found that these participants were more focused on strategies and methods that can

create a pathway to employment for recipients as opposed to the reality of policy

demands The themes that informed this research study are described below

Participants involved in the study initially described the conditions and challenges

facing recipients who were preparing to transition into the labor market Participants

involved in assisting recipients including unemployed young African-American males

were focused on addressing issues that present challenges in the very early stages of the

process Participants encouraged recipients to use an organizer during the first few weeks

of the process and to take note of basic steps which include punctuation grooming and

motivation Participants expressed concerns about how recipients can manage challenges

that relate to transportation clothing and childcare issues Participants also emphasized

the importance of preparing recipients who had experience with the criminal justice

system It was not uncommon for recipients to report experiences to the public workforce

employment manager regarding reactions or responses that imply some form of

stereotype Schneider and Ingram (1993) noted that different target populations receive

quite different messages from the policies practices and programs that guide the process

A policy that have a detrimental impact on or are ineffective in solving important

problems for certain types of target populations may also encourage withdrawal or

passivity (Schneider amp Ingram 1993) Participants in the study expressed the view that

preparing recipients for the challenge of the transition back into the labor market was the

main focus and part of that was preparing each individual to deal with these stereotypes

Participants in the study encouraged recipients to be confident and motivated during the

transition into the workforce

The second theme that emerged addressed employment opportunities for

recipients in particular young African-American males Participants expressed the view

that more resources and programs should be allocated to engage employers to expand the

number of job opportunities available One of the major challenges facing public

workforce employment managers was finding meaningful employment for recipients

Many of the active employer contracts were focused on retail maintenance and food

services Recipients were well aware that most of the jobs will low-wage and did not

provide steady work schedules My findings concurred with McConnell et al (2016)

who noted that more employment opportunities were needed for young men of color My

data also concurred with Heinrich (2016) including that low-wage and low-income

workers face more barriers than ever to secure a job The challenge for recipients

involved in the transition into the workforce was further complicated by the HRA

sanctions For many recipients in the program it was equally important to maintain

benefits as it was to secure a job It was a very complex balancing act to maintain an

active role in the programs and workshops and at the same time actively pursue

meaningful employment opportunities

A very important theme that emerged was the consistent need to adjust to changes

in the job market and to tap into the use of new technology Participants in the study

encouraged recipients to make use of new computer programs online tutorials and

writing classes Recipients in the program were encouraged to pursue further education

by use of community colleges or working with church groups The data showed that

participants were interested in finding ways to include the use of new technology and to

tap into changes in the labor market Many of the participants expressed frustration about

the roadblocks that were created by policies mandated internally Participants expressed

the view that better employment opportunities could be secured for recipients in

particular young African-American males McConnell et al (2016) noted that

technology is changing how we work and live

McConnell et al (2016) content that new employment opportunities are emerging

every day and policymakers are not keeping up with change For public workforce

employment managers the challenge was complicated by the fact that HRA mandates

strict accountability for recipients involved in workforce development programs Public

workforce employment managers are not at liberty to encourage independence and

autonomy for individuals involved in the programs Schneider and Ingram (1993)

suggested that social construction of target population helps explain why some groups are

considered advantaged and receive certain messages and others are not and it is the

policy design that reinforces or alter such advantages Participants in the study contend

that their focus was on the strategies that promised better outcomes For most managers

the public workforce development programs that showed the most promise were the

independent job search functions Participants expressed a willingness to work with

policymakers to change or better align resources and programs to keep pace with

changing technology and in the job market

Perceptions of Benefits and Burdens

The emergent themes regarding public workforce employment managersrsquo

perception of benefits and burdens relevant to recipients particularly young African

American males were critical to this study Many of the benefits and burdens impacting

recipients were also the result of many public workforce development policies and

practices These policies provided the framework for the ideologies and attitudes that

influenced many of the public program managers who guided the public workforce

experience for unemployed young African American males Many of the program

recipients especially young African American males were impacted by sanctions

Manager 9 remarked that ldquofor young African American males the entire focus of their

workforce experience is to avoid the loss of any benefits and avoid any issues with Child

Support Enforcement (CSE) Six of the ten public workforce program managers agreed

that the issue of child support enforcement created the most significant challenges for

recipients including young African American males in the program Manager 5 noted

that ldquofor most young black males involved in the workforce program the problem of

child support enforcement explains why many never complete the programrdquo The

problem is so complex that for unemployed young African American males often a

decision must be made as to whether to risk involvement with the justice system or

compete in the job market For those recipients who find a balance many will continue to

receive benefits such as housing vouchers food stamp vouchers and transportation

metro card vouchers In some case young African American males who cannot resolve

child support issues they must decide between attending a court hearing or a job

interview Manager 3 stated that ldquofor many young black men in the program the options

are limited because failure to address child support issues can lead to time in jailrdquo

Schneider et al (2007) noted that target groups that lack both political power and positive

social construction and tend to receive a disproportionate share of burdens and sanctions

The number of such groups and their significance as targets of policy is growing Young

male minorities dropouts illegal immigrants are sometimes blamed for many of the ills

of society that might more accurately be attributed to the broader social and economic

system (Schneider et al 2007)

The public workforce employment managers involved in this study expressed the

view that the agency was involved in a partnership with the government HRA was the

governing body for the workforce development agency and all the major policies and

strategies were guided by the human resource administrative guidelines For many of the

recipients involved in the program the politics of the organization imply that the priority

should be to follow the rules For many of the recipients including young African-

American males this translated into the program becoming the job What this means for

young African-American male seeking to enter the job market itrsquos necessary to balance

the two At the end of the day that recipient dedicates most of his time and energy to

maintain his status in the program Participants in the study expressed their frustration

with this process that influenced the transition into the workforce These participants

understood that most of the recipients involved in the program were simply trying to

survive The experience for many of the recipients was no longer a matter of finding a

job-it was more a matter of maintaining your benefits by actively engaged in the

program For the public workforce employment manager this presented a major

dilemma The focus for the public workforce employment manager was to assist the

individual with the process of obtaining a job and yet for the recipient the objective was

to maintain an active role in the program to secure benefits Schneider and

Ingram (1993) content that social construction of target populations and policy design

provides important insight into the pressures facing policymakers to design policy

beneficial to powerful positively constructed target populations and to devise punitive

punishmentmdashoriented policy for negatively constructed groups In this study public

workforce employment managers expressed the need to expand programs that focused on

motivation independence and building confidence Public workforce employment

managers encouraged recipients to be proactive to expand on their job search activities

and to be prepared for the transition into the labor market The interpretation of findings

is outlined in the research questions

Response to Research Question 1

What are public employment program managers rsquoperceptions about the alignment

of workforce policies and practices that shape social constructions relevant to

unemployed young African-American males involved in the transition to work

process

The data showed that public workforce employment managers were most

successful when recipients engaged in the independent job search functions and the mock

interview preparation workshops Participants in the study viewed these functions as the

most valuable in the public workforce employment program Public workforce

employment managers revealed that recipients were more engaged and more confident in

their ability to enter the job market when they were encouraged to be independent and

proactive Recipients appeared to take a more vested interest in the process when they

experienced a greater level of autonomy My study also revealed that the relationship

between public workforce employment managers and recipients in particular young

African-American males was much more aligned and meaningful when both parties were

engaged in the independent job search function Cherry (2016) noted that individuals tend

to achieve their goals when supported positively by managers or co-workers Of the many

workforce development employment training programs the independent job search

workshop and the mock interview workshops appear to be the most effective

Participants expressed the view that more resources should be and could be reallocated to

expand on these programs Participants expressed the view that once resources and

policies were realigned to target these particular workshops that recipients will be more

engaged and more productive during this process

workforce employment policy design and social constructions impacting

unemployed young African-American males during the transition workforce

training experience

The data showed that participants encouraged recipients involved in the

workforce employment training programs to develop greater independence This suggests

that the public employment program (WDA) policy did not encourage greater levels of

autonomy for recipients in particular unemployed young African-American males The

public workforce employment managers expressed concerns about the barriers and

stereotypes still impacting recipients during the transition into the workforce Participants

expressed the view that modifications to public workforce employment training policy

could remove certain barriers and help to diminish some stereotypes impacting recipients

The data showed that recipients involved with certain workshops including the

independent job search function demonstrated greater levels of creativity confidence

and independence The data generated from the second research question showed that all

of the recipients involved in the independent job search workshops experienced greater

interactions with the public workforce employment community and managers (Cherry

It was important to note that recipients involved in the independent job search

workshops were more informed about the employers criteria and guidelines that

supported full-time employment Recipients must be involved in public workforce

employment programs that address barriers to employment and inform recipients about

the criteria the employers require during the transition to full-time employment The

theories provided by Ingram et al (2009) helps to explain how policy impact target

populations and why public workforce development agencies implement policies and

practices that guide the public workforce process and the recipients involved in the

programs Changes in the job markets and technology have created a need for

realignments of policies and practices and reassessment of how individuals confront

barriers

Limitations of the Study

The current research study limitations are that it is focused on one public

workforce employment program agency and one group of program professionals working

with a target population and the small sample size The WDA has many participants and

disadvantaged recipients in other programs who face challenges in entering the job

market Disadvantaged groups often depend on government agencies and public policy

for needed services and resources (Spaulding et al 2015) For young unemployed

African American males in the United States they are most likely to face barriers to

employment and the rates of joblessness can be thirty percent higher as they search for

jobs Public workforce employment programs can be used as a resource and many other

individuals can benefit from improvement in services

Social Change Implications

According to WIOA (2016) the US federal government appropriated more than

$69 billion to states for workforce development programs and approximately $34 billion

in federal formulas for funding partner programs for a total of $105 billion in federal

funding I found that public workforce employment trainers were utilizing workforce

employment training programs strategically to assist recipients in particular

unemployed young African-American males during the transition to work process

These public workforce employment program professionals expressed different views

about how resources can be allocated and how programs can be redesigned for

effectiveness This study can be useful because public workforce employment

professionals and recipients involved in the transition to work process may develop

successful strategies that can improve the process This study provides examples of more

effective and efficient allocation of resources Researchers have discovered when using

public workforce programs that encourage independence creative thinking and strategic

planning that the individuals involved experience better outcomes (McKinney et al

2017 Spaulding et al 2015)

Recipients in public workforce employment training programs inherently want to

gain obtain employment These individuals want to achieve full-time employment in a

job that is meaningful and provides a living wage This study was significant because

public workforce employment professionals and recipients experienced a much more

productive and meaningful connection during specific workshops Although public

workforce employment professionals and recipients dedicate significant time and

resources to the transition to work process they are very little information about those

interactions The descriptions about how public workforce employment professionals

interact with recipients in particular young unemployed African-American males can

help other public workforce employment professionals implement more effective

strategies The use of resources by the government on the national state and local levels

may be greatly enhanced by the results of this study I intend that the findings of this case

study address the need for social change by providing insight for future research and

public workforce development professionals The study also offers a potential impact on

social change as organizations seek more effective ways to use new technology to create

employment opportunities It suggests that when public workforce program managers

work closely with recipients to locate better employment options the internet and other

technological sources may provide a pathway

Recommendation for Action

In response to the findings of this study I have three recommendations for

enhancing the public workforce employment training experience between professionals

and recipients The agencies responsible for implementation and the participants

including the public workforce employment professionals and recipients involved in the

program have more of a vested interest These recommendations can be implemented at

public workforce development agencies by policymakers and managers and at meetings

and workshops My first recommendation is that public workforce development directors

and managers redirect resources to specific workshops such as the independent job

search workshop and the mock interviewing workshops The data supports the

enhancement of these workshops with regards to public workforce employment managers

assisting recipients in particular unemployed young African-American males were the

transition into the workforce The independent job search workshops and mock

interviewing workshops allow recipients more creativity greater independence and

enhanced the sense of autonomy By expanding these workshops and reallocation of

resources for these workshops recipients can improve the process of transition into the

workforce

My next recommendation is for public workforce development directors

managers and professionals to work with policymakers to enhance public workforce

employment training workshops to align with the changing job market and focus on new

technology The data supports the use of remote locations Internet cafeacutes and local

libraries to complete specific employment workshop training These strategic planning

changes will address barriers to employment that recipients face in particular

unemployed young African-American males By realigning the use of new technology

recipients will have additional time and resources to examine employment opportunities

in different areas of customer service and data entry staffing For many recipients

involved in the workforce development training programs the barriers that they face are

compounded by the requirement for transportation clothing and childcare By allowing

recipients to complete specific employment training workshops from a remote location or

Internet cafeacute can greatly reduce the burden of these requirements Another

recommendation is that public workforce development directors and managers work with

policymakers to enhance HRA policies and practices

Schneider and Ingram (1993) contend that policy sends messages about what

government is supposed to do which citizens are deserving (and which are not) and

what kinds of participatory patterns are appropriate in a democratic society The data has

indicated that recipients involved in public workforce development training programs are

significantly impacted by sanctions and penalties Participants in this study claimed that

most recipients are negatively impacted by the sanctions that are imposed and the

sanctions do not have any positive impact on the progress of that individual in the

program The sanctions that are implemented by way of HRA guidelines appeared to be

outdated and antiquated Participants in this study expressed the view that sanctions

simply create a revolving door scenario They found very little benefit to the sanctions

imposed on individuals and found I need to change the guidelines that support the

progress of each individual in the programs The sanctions imposed by HRA tend to

suspend benefits such as food stamps childcare and transportation vouchers Participants

in this study expressed the view that other measures can be taken to provide guidelines

for recipients without suspending benefits Some of the new guidelines that

recommended include enhanced employment training workshops and allowing

individuals involved in the programs to complete specific workshops from a remote

location Because all of the participants in the study expressed the view that changes were

needed in the public workforce employment training modules it is productive for

recipients and participants to have more input into the workforce training process

Recommendation for Future Study

This study provided important insights by demonstrating the value of the

interactions between public workforce employment managers and recipients involved in

the program particularly unemployed young African American males This study

focused on the perceptions and experiences of public workforce employment

professionals and did not develop any feedback from the recipients My first

recommendation for future research is to conduct a study of the experiences of

unemployed young African Americans males who are involved in public workforce

employment training Another point of interest would be a study that focused on the use

of public workforce development employment training programs from a remote location

for recipients It would be interesting to note the impact of such a change in terms of the

barriers that could be removed within that structure Finally other studies could be

conducted that explore how recipients respond to independent employment training

programs and enhanced mentorship programs The social relationship between recipients

involved in public workforce employment development and public workforce

professionals has been regarded as important (Heinrich 2016 McKinney et al 2016)

Policymakers and public workforce development managers need to gain a better

understanding of the relevance of the relationship with recipients and how greater

independence and use of technology can improve the transition to work experience for

recipients in particular unemployed young African American males

Reflection of the Researchers Experience

My research experience during the study was very rewarding As I reflect

on this study I believe it addresses the need for policymakers and WDA public

workforce development professionals to improve the transition to work process for

recipients in particular unemployed young African-American males Through the

implementation of enhanced employment training workshops and strategies their

experience between public workforce development professionals and recipients can be

greatly improved For the individuals who seek a pathway to employment through

workforce development programs these improvements to policies and practices will lead

to meaningful employment I began to view the importance of implementing more

effective policies and strategies based on the themes that emerged from the study I

believe that policymakers and workforce development program professionals can

collaborate to develop programs that allow individuals ways to improve options for

gaining meaningful employment By understanding how the enhancement of programs

and reallocation of resources can significantly change outcomes for individuals who have

faced significant barriers to employment policymakers and public workforce program

professionals can maximize the use of resources I found all of the participants sincerely

engaged during the interview process and demonstrated a genuine concern for individuals

seeking to enter the job market I am grateful for the opportunity to work with these

professionals and in some way provide information that can be useful to individuals who

seek a pathway to employment

Conclusion This study sought to fill a gap in the literature regarding the perception and

experiences of public workforce development professionals assisting recipients in

particular unemployed young African-American males who were seeking to enter the

job market The results revealed that public workforce development professionals in the

study demonstrated a genuine concern for recipients seeking a pathway to employment

Participants focused on several public workforce employment training workshops to

assist recipients during the transition into the workforce The results revealed that

recipients in particular unemployed young African-American males were more

proactive and engaged in the employment training workshops within workforce

development programs Public workforce employment managers assisted recipients

during the early stages of the transition process and encouraged creativity while greater

autonomy was gained Participants in the study expressed the view that recipients care

more about developing confidence and independence during the transition into the

workforce as opposed to simply securing employment

All of the participants stressed the view that the policies and practices that guided

the process were to some extent outdated and antiquated These participants expressed a

desire to see changes in policies and programs that would encourage the use of new

technological advances in the job markets In conclusion public workforce development

professionals and recipients in particular young African-American males appeared

destined to continue collaborating define a more effective pathway to employment This

qualitative case study has the potential to aid public workforce development professionals

in assisting young African-American males during the transition into the workforce This

case study identified strategies and practices that could improve the employment training

experience for both public workforce program managers and recipients and with further

enhancement and reallocation of resources could significantly improve the transition into

the work process

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Carla Saporta and Jordan Medina (2014) Pathways out of poverty Boys and men of color and

jobs in the health sector Oakland CA Greenlining Institute Retrieved from

httpgreenliningorgwp-contentuploads201402pathways-out-of-povertypdf

Cherry R (2016) Race and opportunity National affairs Retrieved from

httpswwwnationalaffairscompublicationsdetailsrace-and-opportunity

Cherry R amp Chun W (2015) Child maltreatment and male unemployment Child and Youth

Services Review 66(2016)117-122doi1010161jchildyouth201605008

Colley R amp Baker B (2013) Poverty and education Finding the way forward The ETS

Center for Research on Human Capital and Education

Cortazzi M (2001) Narrative analysis in ethnography In P Atkinson A Coffee J L Delmont

amp L Lofland (Eds) Handbook of ethnography (pp 384-393) Thousand Oaks CA

Crowder K Tolnay S amp Adelman R M (2001) Inter-metropolitan migration and local

improvement for African American males 1970-1990 Social Science Research 30 449-

472httpsdoiorg101806ssre20010706

Darity WA (2005) African Europe and the origins of uneven development The role of

slavery In C Conrad J Whitehead P Mason amp J Steward (eds) African Americans in

the US economy (pp 14-19) New York NY Rowman amp Littlefield Publishers Inc

Denzin NK amp Lincoln YS (Eds) (2000) The handbook of qualitative research

Thousand Oaks CA Sage Publications Ltd

Desilver Drew (2013) Black Unemployment Rate is consistently twice that of Whites

Washington DC Pew Research Center

Dryzek J (1990) The ambitions of policy design Policy Studies Review 7(4) 705-765

httpsdoiorg101111j1541-133819881600890x

Edelman M (1964) The symbolic uses of politics Urbana IL University of Illinois

Edelman P Holzer H J amp Offner P (2006) Reconnecting disadvantaged young men

Washington DC Urban Institute Press

Edin Kathryn (2014) ldquoWhat about the fathersrdquo The Shriver Report (Jan12) Retrieved from

httpshriverreportorgwhat-about-the-fathers-kathrynedu

Ely M (1991) Doing qualitative research Circles within circles New York NY Palmer Press

Gordon ET Gordon E W amp Nembhard J G (1994) Social science literature concerning

African American men Journal of Negro Education 63(4) 508-531

Doi1023072917292

Guba E G amp Lincoln Y S (1994) Competing paradigms in qualitative research In

N K Denzin amp Y S Lincoln (Eds) Handbook of qualitative research (1st ed pp 105-117)

Thousand Oaks CA Sage

Hamilton D Algernon A amp Darity Jr W (2011) Whiter jobs higher wages

Occupational segregation and the lower wages of Black men Washington DC Economy Policy

Institute

Harrison L E (1992) Who prospers How cultural values shape economic and political

success New York NY Basic Books

Heinrich C J (2016) lsquoWorkforce Development in the United States Changing

Public and Private Roles and Program Effectivenessrdquo Prepared for the book Labor Activation in

a Time of High Unemployment Encouraging Work while Preserving the Social Safety-

Net Douglas Besharov and Douglas Call (eds) New York NY Oxford University Press

Heinrich C J Mueser P Troske K R Jeon K-S amp Kahvecioglu D C (2013) ldquoDo

Public Employment and Training Programs Work IZA Journal of Labor Economics 2(1) 1-13

httpsdoiorg1011862193-8997-2-6

Holzer H (2009) Workforce development programs as an anti-poverty strategy What

do we know What should we do In Cancian M amp Danziger S eds Changing poverty

changing policies New York NY Russell Sage Foundation 301-329 (p 28)

Holzer H amp Offner P (2004) The puzzle of black unemployment The Public Interest 74-84

Ingram Helen and Anne L Schneider (1990) ldquoImproving Implementation through Framing

Smarter Statutesrdquo Journal of Public Policy 10 (1) 66-87 2005 ldquoHow Public Policy

Socially Constructs Deservednessrdquo In Anne Schneider and Helen Ingrams eds

Deserving and Entitled Social Construction and Public Policypp1-34 Albany

SUNY Press

Jones J Schmitt J amp Wilson V (2018) Fifty years after the Kerner Commission

African Americans are better off in many ways but are still disadvantaged by racial

inequality Economic Policy Institute

Josselson R amp Lieblich A (2001) Narrative research and humanism In K J Schneider J

Bugental amp J R Pierson (Eds) Handbook of humanistic psychology Leading edges in

theory research and practice Thousand Oaks CA Sage Kruk E(2013 April 25) The

impact of parental alienation on children- Psychology today Retrieved from

httpswwwpsychologytodaycomusco-parenting-after-divorce201304the-impact-

parental-alienation-children

Kuehn Daniel (2013) The Labor Market Performance of Young Black Men in the Great

Recession Urban Institute Liberman Akiva M amp Jocelyn Fontaine 2015 Reducing

Harms to Boys and Young Men of Color from Criminal Justice System Involvement

Washington DC Urban Institute

Lincoln T S (1995) Emerging criteria for quality in qualitative and interpretive inquiry

Qualitative inquiry 1 275-289 Lincoln Y S amp Guba E G (1985) Naturalistic inquiry

Newbury Park CA Sage Mason P L (2005) Persistent racial discrimination in the

labor market In C Conrad J Whitehead P Mason amp J Steward (Eds) African

Americans in the US economy (pp141-150) New York NY Rowman amp Littlefield

Publishers

McConnell Shenna Kenneth Fortson Dana Rotz Peter Schochet Paul Burkander Linda

Rosenberg Annalisa DrsquoAmico and Ronald Mastri ldquo Do Job Seekers Benefit From

Services Provided by the WIA Adult and Dislocated Workers Programs Impacts at 15

Monthsrdquo Washington Mathematica Policy Research May 2016 McKinney amp Company

Education to employment Designing a system that works December 2016

McKinney amp Company Digital America A tale of the haves and have-mores December 2015

McKinney amp Company Jobs Lost Job Gained Workforce Transition in a Time of Automation

December 2017

Mead L (1992) The new politics of poverty the working poor in America New York NY

Free Press Merriam S (2002) Qualitative research in practice Examples for discussion

and analysisSan Francisco CA Jossey-Brass

Mettler Suzanne and Eric Welch 2004 ldquoCivic Generation Policy Feedback Effects of the GI

Bill on Political Involvement over the Life Courserdquo British Journal of Science 34(3)

497-518

Mishler E (1995) Models of narrative analysis A typology Journal of Narrative and

Life History 5(2) 87-123

Moss P amp Tilly C (1996) ldquoSoft skills and race An investigation of black menrsquos employment

problems Work and Occupation 23(3) 252-276

Murray C (1984)Losing Ground American social policy 1950-1980 New York NY Basic

Neckerman K amp Kisrchenman J (1991) Hiring strategies racial bias and inner-city

workers Social Problems 38(4) 433-447

Nowell LS Norris JM White DE amp Moules NJ (2017) Thematic Analysis Striving to

meet the Trustworthiness Criteria International Journal of Qualitative Methods 16(1)

Pager D (2011) Comment Young Disadvantaged Men Reaction from the Perspective of Race

Annals of the America Academy of Political and Social Science 655(1) 13130 Doi

101771002716210039332 Patton M Q (2002) Qualitative research and

evaluation methods Thousand Oaks CA Sage

Pierce Jonathan J Saba Siddiki Michael D Jones Kristin Schumacher Andrew Pattison and

Holly Peterson 2014 ldquoSocial Construction and Policy Design A Review of Past

Applicationsrdquo Policy Studies Journal 42(1) 1-29

Pitts Steven (2011) Research Brief Black Workers and the Public Sector Center for

Labor Research and Education University of California Berkeley

Quanne James William Julius Wilson amp Jackelyn Hwang 2015 ldquo Black men and the

struggle for workrdquo Education next 22-29

Ratcliffe C (2015 September) Child poverty and adult success Retrieved from Urban

Institute website httpswwwurbanorgsitesdefaultfilespublication657662000369-

Child-Poverty-and-Adult-Successpdf

Rubin L (2005) Qualitative interviewing The art of hearing data Thousand Oaks CA

Sabatier Paul A 1993 ldquoPolicy Change over a Decade or Morerdquo In Paul A Sabatier and Hank

C Jenkins-Smith eds Policy Change and Learning pp13-39 Boulder CO Westview

Press ed 1999 Theories of the Policy Process Boulder CO Westview Press Saldana

J (2011) Fundamentals of qualitative research New York Oxford University Press

Schneider AL amp Ingram HM (1997) Policy design for democracy University Press of

Kansas

Schwartz A amp Leos-Urbel j (2014 June) Expanding summer employment opportunities for

low-income youth

The Sentencing Project (2003) Hispanic prisoners in the United States Retrieved from The

Sentencing Project website

httpwwwsentencingprojectorgdocpublicationinc_hispanicprisonerspdf Selvaggi S

(2016 June 15) New Jersey prisons have the highest rates of racial disparity in the US

report finds Retrieved from httpatlanticblackstarcom20160615new-jersey-prisons-

have-the-highest-rates-of-racial-disparity-in-the-U-S-report-find

Sherman Erik ldquoHiring Bias Blacks and Latinos Face Hasnrsquot Improved in 25 Yearsrdquo Forbes

September 2017 httpswwwforbescomsiteseriksherman20170916job-

discrimination-against-blacks-and-Latinos-has-changed-little-or-none-in-25-

years364301b351e3

Sidney Mara (2003) Unfair Housing How National Policy Shape Community Action

Lawrence University Press of Kanas 2005 ldquoContested Images of Race and Place The

Politics of Housing Discriminationrdquo In Anne L Schneider and Helen M Ingram eds

Deserving and Entitled Social Construction of Public Policy pp113- 138Albany

SUNY Press Simon Herbert A (1981)The Sciences of Artificial Cambridge MIT

Skinner C (1995) Urban labor markets and young black men A literature review Journal of

Economic Issues 29(1) 47-65 Smith R

amp Joe T (1994) A World without work Causes and consequences of black male

joblessness (No 143) Washington DC Center for the Study of Social Policy

Spaulding S Lerman R Holzer H amp Eyster L (2015 February) Expanding

economic opportunity for young men and boys of color through employment and

training Retrieved from Urban Institute website

httpwwwurbanorgsitesdefaultfilesalfrescopublication-pdf2000097- expanding-

economic-opportunity-for-young-men-and-boys-of-color-through- employment-and-

training-1pdf

Soss Joe 1999 ldquoLessons of Welfare Policy Design Political Learning and Political Actionrdquo

American Political Science Review 93(June)363-380 Stake R E

(1995)The art of case study research Thousand Oaks CA Sage Publication Stoll M A

(2002) Stopler (2015) The Black youth employment problem revisited In C Conrad J

Whitehead P Mason amp J Steward (Eds) African Americans in the US Economy

(pp294-305) New York NY Rowman amp Littlefield Publishers Inc

Stopler H (2016 December) Unpredictable How Unpredictable Schedules Keep Low-Income

New Yorkers from Getting Ahead Community Service Society Retrieved from

httplghttp58547newcesscdnnet803f44aimagesnucssimagesuploadspubsscheduling121

916finalwebpdf US Department of Labor(2016) Employment Training Programs for

Young Adults Washington DC

Warren C amp Tracy Karner (2005) Discovering Qualitative Methods Field Research

Interviews and Analysis Los Angeles Roxbury

Weller Christan and Jaryn Fields (2011) The Black and White Labor Gap in America Why

African Americans Struggle to Find Jobs and Remain Employed Compared to Whites

Center for American Progress

Western B (2007) Mass imprisonment and economic inequality Social Research 74(2) 509-

Whtehead J (2005) Racial economic inequality and discrimination Conservative and liberal

paradigms revisited In C Conrad J Whitehead P Mason amp J Steward (Eds) African

Publishers Inc

Wilson Valerie (2015) Black Unemployment is Significantly Higher than White Unemployment

regardless of Educational Attainment Economic Policy Institute Wilson Valerie and

William Rodgers (2016) Black-White Wage Gaps Expand with Rising Wage Inequality

Economic Policy Institute

Wilson W J (1987) the truly disadvantaged Chicago University of Chicago Press

Wilson W J (2003) Race class and urban poverty Ethnic and Racial Studies 26(6) 1096-

Workforce Services to Job Seekers 15- Month Finding on the WIA Adult and Dislocated

Worker Programs Princeton NJ Mathematica Policy Research Workforce Investment

Act Local Areas Face Challenges Helping Employers Fill Some Types of Skilled Jobs

GOA-14-19 Washington DC Dec 2 2015

Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Joint Rule for Unified and Combined State Plans

Performance Accountability and the One-stop System Joint Provisions 81 Fed Reg

55791 (Aug 19 2016)

Yancy G (2004) Historical varieties of African American labor Sites of agency and resistance

The Western Journal of Black Studies 28(2) 337-353

Yin RK (1993) Application of case study research Newbury Park CA Sage Publications

Appendix A Individual Interview Guide

Introduction Thank you for participating in my doctoral study about how public workforce

employment program professionals interact with participants who face significant barriers

to entering the job market Particularly the interactions that take place before and during

the transition into the job market for young unemployed African American males as it

concerns workforce policies and practices that provide the pathway to employment I will

ask you some questions for about an hour and I would very much like to audiotape the

interview I will transcribe the tape after the interview and you are welcome to review or

receive a copy of the transcript We can stop the interview at any time if you have a concern

or question

Opening Prompt How long have you been involved in public workforce employment-

based training How long have you been employed at Maximus Workforce Harlemrsquos

location

The following interview questions will guide the initial interview and any possible follow-

up interviews Interview Questions

1 What impact has the workforce employment policies and practices had on changing

social constructions affecting young unemployed African American males involved

in the transition to work process

2 What aspects of current employment-based workforce policies and practices tend to be

more aligned to assist young African American males with the transition to work

process

3 What are your perceptions regarding implementing different strategies to change the

impact of social constructs relevant to young African American males involved in the

4 What are your perceptions of the strategies and practices utilized by young African

American males to prepare for the transition into the job market

5 What are your perceptions of current programs and policies designed to address

negative social constructions impacting young African American males involved in

the transition to work process

6 What is in your opinion is the least effective measure being implemented to assist

young African American males involved in the transition to work process

7 What is in your opinion the most effective about strategies or interventions currently

being implemented to assist young African American males with the transition to work

process

8 What factors create significant barriers to employment for young African American

males as a result of negative social constructions

9 What is your perception of the balance of benefits and burdens affecting young African

American males involved in the public workforce employment process

10 What are your perceptions about employment opportunities created as a result of new

technology

Appendix B The Workforce Agency Employment Training Organizer

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Set Clock

Arrive Early

Ask Question

Think Positive

Check Guidance

Take Lunch

Re-Check Duties

Think Teamwork

Re-Check

Appendix C Emergent Themes

Theme 1 Perceived Barriers and Stereotypes

Requesting a more mature hire

An offer of part-time hours

An offer of off-hour schedule

An offer of minimum wage work

Request for business attire

Theme 2 Strategies for Securing Employment

Prepare for day one

Get the interview

Accept any shift

Request career coaching

Theme 3 Managing Change and New Technology

Request time in the lab

Use the internet job search

Request to work remote

Use of library or internet cafeacute

Learning to job search

Theme 4 Perceptions of Benefits and Burdens

Decide between court or job interview

How to balance child support

Setting up a flex schedule

Extending the vouchers

Avoid the negative labels

Theme 5 Organizational Politics

Avoid FTC ( failure to comply)

Maintain the program

Follow the rules

Play the game

Maintain the benefits

Put the time in

Perceived employment barriers involving program managers assisting unemployed young african american males

tmp1598826605pdf1wo01

Walden University

College of Social and Behavioral Sciences

This is to certify that the doctoral dissertation by

Michael Williams

has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects

and that any and all revisions required by

the review committee have been made

Review Committee

Dr Jessie Lee Committee Chairperson

Dr Tanya Settles Committee Member

Dr Victoria Landu-Adams University Reviewer

Chief Academic Officer and Provost

Sue Subocz PhD

Walden University

Abstract

Michael Williams

Walden University

June 2020

Abstract

Michael Williams

Walden University

June 2020

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Table of Contents

List of Tables vi

Introduction 1

Background 2

Definitions 12

Assumptions 14

Limitations 16

Significance 16

Summary 17

Introduction 19

Summary 49

Introduction 51

Case Study 55

Data Collection 60

Data Analysis 62

Trustworthiness 68

Transferability 69

Dependability 69

Introduction 74

Data Collection 79

Data Analysis 84

Level One Coding 85

Level Two Coding 86

Findings 87

Emergent Themes 87

Introduction 118

Emergent Themes 122

Conclusion 138

References 140

List of Tables

Introduction

Background

and literature

Nature of the Study

Definitions

Labor 2015)

working-age persons

examination

Assumptions

Limitations

Significance

obtaining work

Summary

Introduction

(Sherman 2017)

Hwang 2015)

to work process

opportunities

et al 2016)

families

job (Cherry 2016)

American males

Summary

Chapter 3 Methods

Introduction

Case Study

Data Collection

and procedures

Data Analysis

participants

Trustworthiness

Credibility

Transferability

Dependability

Confirmability

Researchers Role

(Ely 1991)

Summary

Chapter 4 Results

Introduction

employment training

workshops

Data Collection

Table 1

Perceived Barriers

available need past

work experience we

We require

background checks

We require more

education We want

workers with soft

workers with child

support issues Need

workers who learn

with flexibility

workers must have a

motivated workers

years of work

Managers 2 3 7

Strategies for

shifts Getting the

interview career

coaching Need

workers who follow

dress code require

workers maintain

work attire We can

use more mentors We

need to add more

employers We can

add more career

development We

need more mock

interview workshop

guidelines

have job training

must be well-

groomed always on

Managers 4 6

Perceptions of

the sanctions

Extension of a

housing voucher

getting flexible

unlimited Metro

cards avoid loss of

loss of food stamp

benefits

They indicated some

recipients are

negatively impacted

by sanctions They

indicated that some

recipients loss

housing voucher

avoid sanctions the

need more rules and

enforcement

Managers 1 9

Managing Change and

Finding tech jobs

online Jobs are

the computer labs

Data entry jobs are

remote work often

more flexible more

can be found online

workshops can be

completed online

have a coach or

mentor

Noted It is time to

learn about the

internet

Manager 8 10

Politics of the

Organization

rules maintain the

benefits Avoid any

sanctions

politics make

recipients aware of

resources available

ways to find

resources

a metro card cannot

afford FTC (Failure

To Comply) Workers

need to avoid

sanctions workers

Managers 137

(Ingram et al 2007)

Data Analysis

Level One Coding

Level Two Coding

Level Three Coding

process

to work

policymakers

improvement

experience

training

American males

Evidence of Quality

Summary of Findings

with a conclusion

Introduction

individuals

Emergent Themes

process

training experience

barriers

workforce

the work process

References

Park CA Sage

MA Lexington Books

httpsdoiorg101111j1541-133819881600890x

Doi1023072917292

Institute

httpsdoiorg1011862193-8997-2-6

SUNY Press

Publishers

December 2017

497-518

Kansas

low-income youth

years364301b351e3

training-1pdf

Publishers Inc

55791 (Aug 19 2016)

or question

location

process

technology

Set Clock

Arrive Early

Ask Question

Think Positive

Check Guidance

Take Lunch

Re-Check Duties

Think Teamwork

Re-Check

Prepare for day one

Get the interview

Accept any shift

Follow the rules

Play the game

Put the time in

tmp1598826605pdf1wo01

Abstract

Michael Williams

Walden University

June 2020

Abstract

Michael Williams

Walden University

June 2020

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Table of Contents

List of Tables vi

Introduction 1

Background 2

Definitions 12

Assumptions 14

Limitations 16

Significance 16

Summary 17

Introduction 19

Summary 49

Introduction 51

Case Study 55

Data Collection 60

Data Analysis 62

Trustworthiness 68

Transferability 69

Dependability 69

Introduction 74

Data Collection 79

Data Analysis 84

Level One Coding 85

Level Two Coding 86

Findings 87

Emergent Themes 87

Introduction 118

Emergent Themes 122

Conclusion 138

References 140

List of Tables

Introduction

Background

and literature

Nature of the Study

Definitions

Labor 2015)

working-age persons

examination

Assumptions

Limitations

Significance

obtaining work

Summary

Introduction

(Sherman 2017)

Hwang 2015)

to work process

opportunities

et al 2016)

families

job (Cherry 2016)

American males

Summary

Chapter 3 Methods

Introduction

Case Study

Data Collection

and procedures

Data Analysis

participants

Trustworthiness

Credibility

Transferability

Dependability

Confirmability

Researchers Role

(Ely 1991)

Summary

Chapter 4 Results

Introduction

employment training

workshops

Data Collection

Table 1

Perceived Barriers

available need past

work experience we

We require

background checks

We require more

education We want

workers with soft

workers with child

support issues Need

workers who learn

with flexibility

workers must have a

motivated workers

years of work

Managers 2 3 7

Strategies for

shifts Getting the

interview career

coaching Need

workers who follow

dress code require

workers maintain

work attire We can

use more mentors We

need to add more

employers We can

add more career

development We

need more mock

interview workshop

guidelines

have job training

must be well-

groomed always on

Managers 4 6

Perceptions of

the sanctions

Extension of a

housing voucher

getting flexible

unlimited Metro

cards avoid loss of

loss of food stamp

benefits

They indicated some

recipients are

negatively impacted

by sanctions They

indicated that some

recipients loss

housing voucher

avoid sanctions the

need more rules and

enforcement

Managers 1 9

Managing Change and

Finding tech jobs

online Jobs are

the computer labs

Data entry jobs are

remote work often

more flexible more

can be found online

workshops can be

completed online

have a coach or

mentor

Noted It is time to

learn about the

internet

Manager 8 10

Politics of the

Organization

rules maintain the

benefits Avoid any

sanctions

politics make

recipients aware of

resources available

ways to find

resources

a metro card cannot

afford FTC (Failure

To Comply) Workers

need to avoid

sanctions workers

Managers 137

(Ingram et al 2007)

Data Analysis

Level One Coding

Level Two Coding

Level Three Coding

process

to work

policymakers

improvement

experience

training

American males

Evidence of Quality

Summary of Findings

with a conclusion

Introduction

individuals

Emergent Themes

process

training experience

barriers

workforce

the work process

References

Park CA Sage

MA Lexington Books

httpsdoiorg101111j1541-133819881600890x

Doi1023072917292

Institute

httpsdoiorg1011862193-8997-2-6

SUNY Press

Publishers

December 2017

497-518

Kansas

low-income youth

years364301b351e3

training-1pdf

Publishers Inc

55791 (Aug 19 2016)

or question

location

process

technology

Set Clock

Arrive Early

Ask Question

Think Positive

Check Guidance

Take Lunch

Re-Check Duties

Think Teamwork

Re-Check

Prepare for day one

Get the interview

Accept any shift

Follow the rules

Play the game

Put the time in

tmp1598826605pdf1wo01

Abstract

Michael Williams

Walden University

June 2020

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Table of Contents

List of Tables vi

Introduction 1

Background 2

Definitions 12

Assumptions 14

Limitations 16

Significance 16

Summary 17

Introduction 19

Summary 49

Introduction 51

Case Study 55

Data Collection 60

Data Analysis 62

Trustworthiness 68

Transferability 69

Dependability 69

Introduction 74

Data Collection 79

Data Analysis 84

Level One Coding 85

Level Two Coding 86

Findings 87

Emergent Themes 87

Introduction 118

Emergent Themes 122

Conclusion 138

References 140

List of Tables

Introduction

Background

and literature

Nature of the Study

Definitions

Labor 2015)

working-age persons

examination

Assumptions

Limitations

Significance

obtaining work

Summary

Introduction

(Sherman 2017)

Hwang 2015)

to work process

opportunities

et al 2016)

families

job (Cherry 2016)

American males

Summary

Chapter 3 Methods

Introduction

Case Study

Data Collection

and procedures

Data Analysis

participants

Trustworthiness

Credibility

Transferability

Dependability

Confirmability

Researchers Role

(Ely 1991)

Summary

Chapter 4 Results

Introduction

employment training

workshops

Data Collection

Table 1

Perceived Barriers

available need past

work experience we

We require

background checks

We require more

education We want

workers with soft

workers with child

support issues Need

workers who learn

with flexibility

workers must have a

motivated workers

years of work

Managers 2 3 7

Strategies for

shifts Getting the

interview career

coaching Need

workers who follow

dress code require

workers maintain

work attire We can

use more mentors We

need to add more

employers We can

add more career

development We

need more mock

interview workshop

guidelines

have job training

must be well-

groomed always on

Managers 4 6

Perceptions of

the sanctions

Extension of a

housing voucher

getting flexible

unlimited Metro

cards avoid loss of

loss of food stamp

benefits

They indicated some

recipients are

negatively impacted

by sanctions They

indicated that some

recipients loss

housing voucher

avoid sanctions the

need more rules and

enforcement

Managers 1 9

Managing Change and

Finding tech jobs

online Jobs are

the computer labs

Data entry jobs are

remote work often

more flexible more

can be found online

workshops can be

completed online

have a coach or

mentor

Noted It is time to

learn about the

internet

Manager 8 10

Politics of the

Organization

rules maintain the

benefits Avoid any

sanctions

politics make

recipients aware of

resources available

ways to find

resources

a metro card cannot

afford FTC (Failure

To Comply) Workers

need to avoid

sanctions workers

Managers 137

(Ingram et al 2007)

Data Analysis

Level One Coding

Level Two Coding

Level Three Coding

process

to work

policymakers

improvement

experience

training

American males

Evidence of Quality

Summary of Findings

with a conclusion

Introduction

individuals

Emergent Themes

process

training experience

barriers

workforce

the work process

References

Park CA Sage

MA Lexington Books

httpsdoiorg101111j1541-133819881600890x

Doi1023072917292

Institute

httpsdoiorg1011862193-8997-2-6

SUNY Press

Publishers

December 2017

497-518

Kansas

low-income youth

years364301b351e3

training-1pdf

Publishers Inc

55791 (Aug 19 2016)

or question

location

process

technology

Set Clock

Arrive Early

Ask Question

Think Positive

Check Guidance

Take Lunch

Re-Check Duties

Think Teamwork

Re-Check

Prepare for day one

Get the interview

Accept any shift

Follow the rules

Play the game

Put the time in

tmp1598826605pdf1wo01

Michael Williams

Walden University

June 2020

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Table of Contents

List of Tables vi

Introduction 1

Background 2

Definitions 12

Assumptions 14

Limitations 16

Significance 16

Summary 17

Introduction 19

Summary 49

Introduction 51

Case Study 55

Data Collection 60

Data Analysis 62

Trustworthiness 68

Transferability 69

Dependability 69

Introduction 74

Data Collection 79

Data Analysis 84

Level One Coding 85

Level Two Coding 86

Findings 87

Emergent Themes 87

Introduction 118

Emergent Themes 122

Conclusion 138

References 140

List of Tables

Introduction

Background

and literature

Nature of the Study

Definitions

Labor 2015)

working-age persons

examination

Assumptions

Limitations

Significance

obtaining work

Summary

Introduction

(Sherman 2017)

Hwang 2015)

to work process

opportunities

et al 2016)

families

job (Cherry 2016)

American males

Summary

Chapter 3 Methods

Introduction

Case Study

Data Collection

and procedures

Data Analysis

participants

Trustworthiness

Credibility

Transferability

Dependability

Confirmability

Researchers Role

(Ely 1991)

Summary

Chapter 4 Results

Introduction

employment training

workshops

Data Collection

Table 1

Perceived Barriers

available need past

work experience we

We require

background checks

We require more

education We want

workers with soft

workers with child

support issues Need

workers who learn

with flexibility

workers must have a

motivated workers

years of work

Managers 2 3 7

Strategies for

shifts Getting the

interview career

coaching Need

workers who follow

dress code require

workers maintain

work attire We can

use more mentors We

need to add more

employers We can

add more career

development We

need more mock

interview workshop

guidelines

have job training

must be well-

groomed always on

Managers 4 6

Perceptions of

the sanctions

Extension of a

housing voucher

getting flexible

unlimited Metro

cards avoid loss of

loss of food stamp

benefits

They indicated some

recipients are

negatively impacted

by sanctions They

indicated that some

recipients loss

housing voucher

avoid sanctions the

need more rules and

enforcement

Managers 1 9

Managing Change and

Finding tech jobs

online Jobs are

the computer labs

Data entry jobs are

remote work often

more flexible more

can be found online

workshops can be

completed online

have a coach or

mentor

Noted It is time to

learn about the

internet

Manager 8 10

Politics of the

Organization

rules maintain the

benefits Avoid any

sanctions

politics make

recipients aware of

resources available

ways to find

resources

a metro card cannot

afford FTC (Failure

To Comply) Workers

need to avoid

sanctions workers

Managers 137

(Ingram et al 2007)

Data Analysis

Level One Coding

Level Two Coding

Level Three Coding

process

to work

policymakers

improvement

experience

training

American males

Evidence of Quality

Summary of Findings

with a conclusion

Introduction

individuals

Emergent Themes

process

training experience

barriers

workforce

the work process

References

Park CA Sage

MA Lexington Books

httpsdoiorg101111j1541-133819881600890x

Doi1023072917292

Institute

httpsdoiorg1011862193-8997-2-6

SUNY Press

Publishers

December 2017

497-518

Kansas

low-income youth

years364301b351e3

training-1pdf

Publishers Inc

55791 (Aug 19 2016)

or question

location

process

technology

Set Clock

Arrive Early

Ask Question

Think Positive

Check Guidance

Take Lunch

Re-Check Duties

Think Teamwork

Re-Check

Prepare for day one

Get the interview

Accept any shift

Follow the rules

Play the game

Put the time in

tmp1598826605pdf1wo01

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Table of Contents

List of Tables vi

Introduction 1

Background 2

Definitions 12

Assumptions 14

Limitations 16

Significance 16

Summary 17

Introduction 19

Summary 49

Introduction 51

Case Study 55

Data Collection 60

Data Analysis 62

Trustworthiness 68

Transferability 69

Dependability 69

Introduction 74

Data Collection 79

Data Analysis 84

Level One Coding 85

Level Two Coding 86

Findings 87

Emergent Themes 87

Introduction 118

Emergent Themes 122

Conclusion 138

References 140

List of Tables

Introduction

Background

and literature

Nature of the Study

Definitions

Labor 2015)

working-age persons

examination

Assumptions

Limitations

Significance

obtaining work

Summary

Introduction

(Sherman 2017)

Hwang 2015)

to work process

opportunities

et al 2016)

families

job (Cherry 2016)

American males

Summary

Chapter 3 Methods

Introduction

Case Study

Data Collection

and procedures

Data Analysis

participants

Trustworthiness

Credibility

Transferability

Dependability

Confirmability

Researchers Role

(Ely 1991)

Summary

Chapter 4 Results

Introduction

employment training

workshops

Data Collection

Table 1

Perceived Barriers

available need past

work experience we

We require

background checks

We require more

education We want

workers with soft

workers with child

support issues Need

workers who learn

with flexibility

workers must have a

motivated workers

years of work

Managers 2 3 7

Strategies for

shifts Getting the

interview career

coaching Need

workers who follow

dress code require

workers maintain

work attire We can

use more mentors We

need to add more

employers We can

add more career

development We

need more mock

interview workshop

guidelines

have job training

must be well-

groomed always on

Managers 4 6

Perceptions of

the sanctions

Extension of a

housing voucher

getting flexible

unlimited Metro

cards avoid loss of

loss of food stamp

benefits

They indicated some

recipients are

negatively impacted

by sanctions They

indicated that some

recipients loss

housing voucher

avoid sanctions the

need more rules and

enforcement

Managers 1 9

Managing Change and

Finding tech jobs

online Jobs are

the computer labs

Data entry jobs are

remote work often

more flexible more

can be found online

workshops can be

completed online

have a coach or

mentor

Noted It is time to

learn about the

internet

Manager 8 10

Politics of the

Organization

rules maintain the

benefits Avoid any

sanctions

politics make

recipients aware of

resources available

ways to find

resources

a metro card cannot

afford FTC (Failure

To Comply) Workers

need to avoid

sanctions workers

Managers 137

(Ingram et al 2007)

Data Analysis

Level One Coding

Level Two Coding

Level Three Coding

process

to work

policymakers

improvement

experience

training

American males

Evidence of Quality

Summary of Findings

with a conclusion

Introduction

individuals

Emergent Themes

process

training experience

barriers

workforce

the work process

References

Park CA Sage

MA Lexington Books

httpsdoiorg101111j1541-133819881600890x

Doi1023072917292

Institute

httpsdoiorg1011862193-8997-2-6

SUNY Press

Publishers

December 2017

497-518

Kansas

low-income youth

years364301b351e3

training-1pdf

Publishers Inc

55791 (Aug 19 2016)

or question

location

process

technology

Set Clock

Arrive Early

Ask Question

Think Positive

Check Guidance

Take Lunch

Re-Check Duties

Think Teamwork

Re-Check

Prepare for day one

Get the interview

Accept any shift

Follow the rules

Play the game

Put the time in

tmp1598826605pdf1wo01

Acknowledgments

Table of Contents

List of Tables vi

Introduction 1

Background 2

Definitions 12

Assumptions 14

Limitations 16

Significance 16

Summary 17

Introduction 19

Summary 49

Introduction 51

Case Study 55

Data Collection 60

Data Analysis 62

Trustworthiness 68

Transferability 69

Dependability 69

Introduction 74

Data Collection 79

Data Analysis 84

Level One Coding 85

Level Two Coding 86

Findings 87

Emergent Themes 87

Introduction 118

Emergent Themes 122

Conclusion 138

References 140

List of Tables

Introduction

Background

and literature

Nature of the Study

Definitions

Labor 2015)

working-age persons

examination

Assumptions

Limitations

Significance

obtaining work

Summary

Introduction

(Sherman 2017)

Hwang 2015)

to work process

opportunities

et al 2016)

families

job (Cherry 2016)

American males

Summary

Chapter 3 Methods

Introduction

Case Study

Data Collection

and procedures

Data Analysis

participants

Trustworthiness

Credibility

Transferability

Dependability

Confirmability

Researchers Role

(Ely 1991)

Summary

Chapter 4 Results

Introduction

employment training

workshops

Data Collection

Table 1

Perceived Barriers

available need past

work experience we

We require

background checks

We require more

education We want

workers with soft

workers with child

support issues Need

workers who learn

with flexibility

workers must have a

motivated workers

years of work

Managers 2 3 7

Strategies for

shifts Getting the

interview career

coaching Need

workers who follow

dress code require

workers maintain

work attire We can

use more mentors We

need to add more

employers We can

add more career

development We

need more mock

interview workshop

guidelines

have job training

must be well-

groomed always on

Managers 4 6

Perceptions of

the sanctions

Extension of a

housing voucher

getting flexible

unlimited Metro

cards avoid loss of

loss of food stamp

benefits

They indicated some

recipients are

negatively impacted

by sanctions They

indicated that some

recipients loss

housing voucher

avoid sanctions the

need more rules and

enforcement

Managers 1 9

Managing Change and

Finding tech jobs

online Jobs are

the computer labs

Data entry jobs are

remote work often

more flexible more

can be found online

workshops can be

completed online

have a coach or

mentor

Noted It is time to

learn about the

internet

Manager 8 10

Politics of the

Organization

rules maintain the

benefits Avoid any

sanctions

politics make

recipients aware of

resources available

ways to find

resources

a metro card cannot

afford FTC (Failure

To Comply) Workers

need to avoid

sanctions workers

Managers 137

(Ingram et al 2007)

Data Analysis

Level One Coding

Level Two Coding

Level Three Coding

process

to work

policymakers

improvement

experience

training

American males

Evidence of Quality

Summary of Findings

with a conclusion

Introduction

individuals

Emergent Themes

process

training experience

barriers

workforce

the work process

References

Park CA Sage

MA Lexington Books

httpsdoiorg101111j1541-133819881600890x

Doi1023072917292

Institute

httpsdoiorg1011862193-8997-2-6

SUNY Press

Publishers

December 2017

497-518

Kansas

low-income youth

years364301b351e3

training-1pdf

Publishers Inc

55791 (Aug 19 2016)

or question

location

process

technology

Set Clock

Arrive Early

Ask Question

Think Positive

Check Guidance

Take Lunch

Re-Check Duties

Think Teamwork

Re-Check

Prepare for day one

Get the interview

Accept any shift

Follow the rules

Play the game

Put the time in

tmp1598826605pdf1wo01

Documents

Perceived employment barriers involving program managers